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LIB 

ANGEL 


="  Viook  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


REPORT 


OP 

THE  COMMISSION  TO  INVESTIGATE 

THE  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  AND  CONDITIONS 

OF  VERMONT 


1914 


THE  VERMONT  PRINTING  COMPANY,  BRATTLEBORO 


CONTENTS 

PAOE 

I.  Introduction  1 

II.  Summary  5 

III.  The  Common  Schools  9 

1 .  Elementary  Schools  14 

2.  Secondary  Schools  21 

3.  The  School  Term  31 

IV.  Specially  Incorporated  Districts  S3 
^,                     V.  County  Grammar  Schools  and  Grammar  School  Lands  34 

VI.  Vocational  Education  35 

VII.  Training  of  Teachers  and  Supervision  43 

VIII.    Agencies  for  Administration  50 

'                    IX.  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  56 

1.  Its  Character — Public  or  Private  56 

2.  Use  of  Federal  Appropriations  91 

3.  The  College  of  Medicine.  119 

X.  Middlebury  College  123 

XI.  Norwich  University  125 

XII.  Duplication  128 

XIII.  The  State  and  Higher  Education  132 

XrV.  Financial  Support  of  Schools  137 

1.  History  of  State  School  Funds  137 

2.  Appropriations  and  Distribution  of  Expense.  140 


I 

INTRODUCTION 

To  His  Excellency,  Allen  M.  Fletcher, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  Vermont: 

On  the  eighth  day  of  November,  1912,  by  communications  to  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  Your  Excellency  submitted  to  their  consideration  cer- 
tain suggestions  regarding  public  education  and  recommended  the  creation  of  an 
\        Educational  Commission  charged  with  the  duty  of  making  inquiry  thereinto  for 
^        the  purpose  of  securing  legislation  for  such  reorganization  of  the  elementary  and 
^        secondary  public  schools  of  the  state,  in  adjustment  to  the  entire  educational 
system  of  the  state,  as  would  promote  the  ends  of  economy,  harmony  and  unit}'. 
In  view  of  the  constant  requests  of  our  institutions  of  higher  learning  for  increas- 
P        ing  state  appropriations  for  their  support  and  maintenance  and  the  importance 
*  Q         that  the  status  of  these  institutions  in  their  relations  to  the  state  should  be  clearly 
i  I         and  speedily  established,  it  was  your  further  recommendation  that  such  Educational 
Q        Commission  be  required  to  report  on  the  several  necessities  of  the  University  of 
^        Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  Middlebury  College  and  Norwich  Uni- 
versity, with  such  suggestions  as  would  prevent  unnecessary  duplication. 

Pursuant  to  your  communications  the  General  Assembly  enacted  the  follow- 
ing joint   resolution: — 

"Whereas,  a  doubt  has  arisen  in  the  minds  of  many  of  those  most  intimately 
related  to  the  secondary  and  elementary  schools  of  the  state  as  to  the  efficiency 
of  our  common  school  system,  and 

'Whereas,  a  similar  doubt  prevails  among  many  friends  of  higher  education 
regarding  the  adequacy  of  the  return  which  the  state  is  getting  from  its  appro- 
priations in  aid  thereof,  and 

'Whereas,  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  has  recommended  in  a  recent  message 
the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  investigate  and  report  on  these  matters; 
Therefore  it  is  hereby 

"Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives:  That  a  commission  of 
nine  persons,  at  least  two  of  whom  shall  be  experts  in  or  engaged  in  educational 
work,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  inquire  into  the  entire  educational 
system  and  condition  of  this  state.  This  commission  shall  report  at  the  earliest 
possible  date  on  the  several  rights,  duties  and  obligations  of  the  University  of 
Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  Middlebury  College  and  Norwich  Uni- 
versity with  such  recommendations  as  will  prevent  unnecessary  duplication  and 
consequent  financial  waste. 


^ 


2  INTRODUCTION 

"Resolved,  That  as  soon  as  practicable  after  reporting  on  the  institutions  of 
higher  learning  hereinbefore  referred  to,  the  said  commission  shall  recommend, 
by  bill  or  otherwise,  such  reorganization  of  our  public  elementary  and  secondary 
schools,  in  adjustment  to  the  entire  educational  system  of  the  state,  as  will  pro- 
mote the  ends  of  unity,  harmony,  economy  and  efficiency. 

"Resolved,  That  the  members  of  said  commission  shall  serve  without  pay,  l)ut 
they  shall  be  paid  by  the  state  their  necessary  expenses  on  requisitions  to  be  ap- 
proved by  the  Governor  and  chairman  of  said  commission,  and  the  Auditor  of  Ac- 
counts shall  draw  orders  therefor.  Said  commission  may  employ  expert  assis- 
tance and  include  the  expense  thereof  in  said  requisitions."  This  resolution  was 
approved  November  19,  1912. 

Later  by  section  14,  of  Number  83,  of  Laws  of  1912,  approved  February  15, 
1913,  it  was  enacted  that,  "the  several  rights,  duties  and  obhgations  of  said  col- 
leges shall  be  determined  by  said  Commission." 

The  undersigned,  by  your  appointment  members  of  the  Commission  to  Investi- 
gate the  Educational  System  and  Conditions  of  Vermont,  (herein  styled  "Commis- 
sion") created  by  said  joint  resolution,  respectfully  report  as  follows: 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Commission  was  held  Thursday,  December  12,  1912, 
and  an  organization  effected.  George  L.  Hunt,  of  Montpelier,  was  chosen  clerk 
of  the  Commission.  Early  in  its  work  it  became  clear  to  the  Commission  that  in 
the  proper  performance  of  its  duties,  the  entire  educational  system  and  conditions 
of  the  state  could  receive  adequate  consideration  only  as  a  unit.  It  was  clear,  too, 
that  just  conclusions  could  be  drawn  only  from  right  premises  and  that  these  pre- 
mises could  be  stated  only  after  a  thorough  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
facts  relating  to  the  state's  educational  system  and  conditions.  By  its  resolution 
the  General  Assembly  authorized  the  Commission  to  employ  expert  assistance  and 
it  seemed  not  only  proper,  but  also  necessary  that  a  body  of  experts,  and  not  merely 
individual  expert  investigators,  be  called  upon  to  assist  in  assembling  facts  mater- 
ial and  relevant  to  the  problems  submitted  to  the  Commission.  To  this  end,  there- 
fore, the  Commission,  by  a  resolution  adopted  on  the  24th  day  of  February,  1913, 
authorized  an  educational  survey  of  the  state  and  appointed  Dr.  Henry  S.  Pritch- 
ett,  President  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the  Advancement  of  Teaching, 
to  undertake  this  survey  with  such  assistance  and  cooperation  as  he  might  de- 
termine. It  seemed  essential,  too,  that  those  to  make  the  survey  should  be  en- 
tirely disinterested  as  between  persons  or  institutions  to  be  affected  by  its  results. 
The  Commission  wanted  the  facts:  to  hew  to  the  line  and  let  the  chips  fall  when 
they  would  in  its  seeking  after  the  truth  of  the  educational  conditions  of  the  state. 
At  the  outset  Dr.  Pritchett  and  his  lieutenants  in  the  survey  were  made  aware  of 
this  requirement. 

The  administrative  and  educational  experience  of  Dr.  Pritchett,  who  was  for- 
merly President  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  and  before  that 
Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  gave  assurance 


INTRODUCTION  3 

of  a  thorough-going  and  appreciative  insight  into  our  educational  system  and  the 
choice  by  him  of  men  well  fitted  by  training  and  association  to  assist  in  the  work 
of  the  survey.  Dr.  Clyde  Furst,  the  Secretary  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  was 
formerly  a  professor  in  and  secretary  of  the  faculty  of  Teachers  College,  Columbia 
University.  Mr.  Monell  Sayre,  a  Harvard  man  and  a  graduate  in  law,  is  a  spe- 
cialist in  college  charters,  pensions,  and  in  agricultural  education.  Dr.  Alfred  Z. 
Reed,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  a  Doctor  of  Philosophy  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, is  an  expert  on  the  staff  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation.  Professor 
Edward  C.  Elliott,  who  gave  particular  attention  in  the  survey  to  the  general 
organization  of  public  education  and  to  the  training  of  teachers,  is  the  head  of  the 
department  of  education  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  has  been  connected 
with  educational  surveys  throughout  the  country.  Professor  Milo  B.  Hillegas, 
who  studied  particularly  the  elementary  schools  of  the  state,  is  a  professor  in  the 
field  of  elementary  education  at  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  and  was 
formerly  editor  of  the  publications  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education.  Dr. 
William  S.  Learned,  who  paid  particular  attention  in  the  survey  to  secondary 
education,  a  graduate  of  Brown  University  and  a  Doctor  of  Philosophy  at  Harvard, 
was  formerly  engaged  in  the  experimental  study  of  education  conducted  by  Har- 
vard in  connection  with  the  schools  of  Newton,  Massachusetts,  and  is  now  an 
expert  on  the  regular  staff  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation.  Professor  Edward  N. 
Farrington,  who  has  been  giving  particular  attention  to  the  study  of  agricultural 
education,  is  the  head  of  the  department  of  dairying  at  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin, and  has  been  the  instrument  of  multiplying  the  dairying  in  that  state  several 
fold.  Professor  George  R.  Olshausen,  who  directed  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
engineering  education  in  tlie  state,  has  been  professor  of  engineering  in  the  Wor- 
cester Polytechnic  Institute  and  in  W'ashington  University,  Saint  Louis.  Dr. 
Nathaniel  Bowditch  Potter,  a  professor  of  medicine  in  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  of  Columbia  University,  gave  his  attention  to  the  study  of  medical 
education.  Mr.  William  Leslie,  head  of  the  firm  of  Leslie  &  Company,  chartered 
accountants  of  New  York,  studied  the  subject  of  school  accounts  and  accounting. 

In  the  gathering  of  facts  these  men  worked  along  the  line  of  their  particular 
subjects;  in  the  assembling  and  corelation  of  the  minutiae  of  fact  thus  obtained, 
they  were  collaborators  in  the  work  of  the  survey.  At  frequent  conferences  of 
those  engaged  in  the  survey,  each  was  required  to  reconcile  his  views  with  the 
views  of  the  others  and  to  draw  his  conclusions  from  the  findings  of  all.  The 
result  of  their  labors  is  set  forth  in  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the 
Advancement  of  Teaching  to  the  Commission  hereto  attached. 

Beyond  the  survey  so  provided,  the  Commission  sought  in  divers  ways  to  learn 
the  facts  relating  to  Vermont's  educational  system  and  conditions.  In  the  further- 
ance of  the  work  of  the  survey,  by  inquiries  addressed  to  each  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  and  principals  of  secondary  schools,  it  secured  information  respecting  the 
teaching  staff  and  the  work  of  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  and  by  as- 


4  INTRODUCTION 

sembling  the  school  registers  of  the  different  towns  and  cities  in  the  state  it  assisted 
in  the  study  of  school  attendance.  It  sought  and  obtained  from  over  two  thousand 
citizens  of  the  state — union  and  town  superintendents  of  schools,  principals  and 
teachers,  school  directors,  and  men  and  women  of  standing  in  their  respective  com- 
munities in  no  way  connected  with  the  schools — their  views  concerning  the  edu- 
cational conditions  of  the  state.  On  January  9, 1913,  the  Commission  held  a  public 
meeting  in  Representatives'  Hall,  at  which  all  present  were  given  opportunity 
to  speak  on  those  matters  submitted  to  it  relating  to  the  elementary  and  secon- 
dary schools.  During  the  month  of  June,  1913,  the  Commission  visited  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  Middlebury  College  and  Nor- 
wich University  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  what  might  be  shown  and  hearing  what 
might  be  said  in  addition  to  the  matters  and  things  set  forth  in  briefs  already  re- 
ceived from  them  in  response  to  the  Commission's  request  therefor,  by  which 
each  of  these  institutions  was  given  an  opportunity  to  show:  (1)  The  functions, 
rights,  duties,  and  obligations  of  the  particular  institution  in  any  wise  respecting 
or  pertaining  to  the  State  of  Vermont;  (2)  The  relation,  if  any,  of  these  three  insti- 
tutions to  each  other;  (3)  All  facts,  historical  or  otherwise,  pertaining  to  said  insti- 
tutions, or  any  of  them,  upon  which  the  particular  institution  bases  its  claim  to 
assistance  from,  or  support  by,  the  State  of  Vermont.  The  Commission  also  visi- 
ted at  this  time,  and  inspected,  the  State  Normal  Schools  at  Castleton  and  Johnson 
and  the  State  Agricultural  School  at  Randolph,  and  examined  Mr.  Vail's  agricul- 
tural school  at  Lyndonville.  On  August  12,  1913,  certain  citizens  and  represen- 
tatives of  organizations  of  Addison  and  Rutland  counties  interested  in  agricul- 
tural education  met  and  addressed  the  Commission  at  Burlington  on  the  question  of 
the  need  of  agricultural  schools  through  the  state.  On  March  6,  1914,  the  Com- 
mission extended  a  further  hearing  to  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricul- 
tural College.  President  Guy  Potter  Benton,  Dean  Henry  C.  Tinkham,  Treasurer 
C.  P.  Smith,  Chief  Justice  George  M.  Powers,  Honorable  Robert  Roberts  and 
Honorable  E.  C.  Mower,  Trustees,  appeared  in  behalf  of  that  institution  and  the 
Commission  was  addressed  by  President  Benton,  Chief  Justice  Powers,  Treasurer 
Smith  and  Mr.  Roberts.  On  March  20, 1914,  a  like  hearing  was  extended  to  Norwich 
University  and  Middlebury  College.  In  behalf  of  the  former,  President  Charles 
H.  Spooner  and  Colonel  Fred  B.  Thomas  addressed  the  Commission.  President 
John  M.  Thomas  and  Honorable  Frank  C.  Partridge,  Fellow,  addressed  the  Com- 
mission in  behalf  of  Middlebury  College.  Furthermore,  members  of  the  Commis- 
sion, by  individual  inquiry,  have  sought  and  obtained  information  respecting  the 
state's  educational  conditions.  Not  alone  upon  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foun- 
dation, therefore,  but  upon  the  knowledge  and  information  obtained  in  the  ways 
set  forth,  the  Commission  bases  its  conclusions  and  makes  its  recommendations. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Commission  in  its  report  to  deal  with  the  educational 
policies  of  the  state,  including  regulations  necessary  to  their  effective  operation, 
and  with  details  of  fact  as  may  V)e  necessary  to  make  plain  the  matters  and  things 


SUMMARY  5 

recommended;  and  to  deal  with  facts  pertaining  to  the  institutions  of  higher  learn- 
ing only  so  far  as  such  facts  shall  bear  on  recommendations  to  be  made  concerning 
them,  or  so  far  as  shall  be  necessary  to  the  determination  of  their  several  rights, 
duties,   and  obligations. 


II 
SUMMARY 

As  a  foreword,  the  Commission  deems  it  wise  to  set  forth  briefly  the  following 
summary  of  its  conclusions  and  recommendations: 

Under  our  Constitution  schools  must  be  competent  in  number  and  in  instruc- 
tion convenient  for  the  youth,  a  sovereign  duty  of  the  commonwealth  to  all  its 
youth,  a  duty  always  recognized  by  the  judicial  department  of  the  government  and 
in  a  large  measure  performed  by  the  legislative  department  of  the  government. 
With  the  changes  in  the  social  and  economic  life  of  the  people  that  have  occurred 
since  the  founding  of  the  state,  these  fundamental  requirements  of  law  respecting 
schools  have  been  to  some  degree  overlooked,  and  present  defects  in  the  system  of 
public  schools  are  due  almost  wholly  to  the  failure  to  adapt  such  requirements  to 
modern  conditions. 

Elementary  Schools 

In  the  elementary  schools  such  a  want  of  adaptation  is  especially  apparent  in 
the  rural  schools,  not  only  in  their  distribution  throughout  the  state  but  in  the 
quality  of  their  work.  The  Commission  recommends  that  rural  schools,  so  far  as 
practicable,  be  consolidated  and  that  their  courses  of  study  be  revised  to  the  end 
that  the  instructions  given,  not  only  in  method  but  in  content,  may  be  suited  to 
the  daily  life  and  environment  of  the  youth. 


Secondary  Schools 

This  lack  of  adaptation  appears  more  prominently  in  the  state's  secondary  schools, 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  secondary  schools  are  not  closely  related  to  the  elementary 
schools  and  that,  for  the  benefit  of  about  one-tenth  of  the  youth  of  secondary- 
school  age,  they  are  chiefly  preparatory  schools  for  higher  education  and  not,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  remaining  nine- tenths  of  the  secondary-school  youth,  finishing 
schools  for  life.  To  restore  the  secondary  schools  to  their  rightful  place  as  a  part 
of  the  public  school  system,  closely  related  to  the  elementary  schools,  and  agencies 
for  the  convenient  instruction  of  all  the  youth  of  the  state,  the  Commission  recom- 
mends a  change  in  the  point  of  division  between  them  and  the  elementary  schools 
as  follows : 


6  SUMMARY 

(a)  That  there  should  be  a  junior  high  school  maintained  in  every  town  in  the 
state  (unless  by  arrangement  an  academy  in  town  is  in  effect  the  high  school  of  the 
town)  where  the  number  of  secondary-school  youth  to  be  conveniently  accommodated 
shall  reasonably  warrant  it,  having  (in  the  language  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation's 
report,  page  109),  "a  four-year  curriculum,  elastic  in  administration,  but  limited  in 
scope  by  the  numbers  and  needs  of  the  local  boys  and  girls  12  to  16  years  of  age, 
covering  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  of  the  present  elementary  school  and  the 
first  two  years  of  the  present  high  school,"  with  equipment  appropriate  to  the 
curriculum  presented ; 

(b)  That  there  should  be  as  many  central  and  readily  accessible  senior  high 
schools,  articulating  directly  with  all  the  neighboring  junior  high  schools,  as  the 
number  of  pupils  desiring  the  advanced  instruction  given  only  in  this  class  of  schools, 
shall  reasonably  demand,  the  number  and  locations  to  be  determined  by  the  board 
of  education.  These  should  have:  (a)  A  four-year  junior  curriculum  as  in  the 
junior  high  schools,  "but  including  special  vocational  opportunities,  particularly 
in  agriculture,  for  pupils  from  12  to  16  years  of  age;"  (h)  A  curriculum  appropri- 
ate to  the  youth  of  17  to  19  years  of  age,  drawn  from  the  surrounding  districts, 
who  are  fitting  for  college,  or  are  completing  a  course  of  general  education.  This 
class  of  schools  should  have  adequate  equipment  for  all  purposes  within  the 
curricula. 

The  Commission  finds  that  by  increasing  the  length  of  the  school  term  to  thirty- 
six  weeks — about  the  average  for  the  country — nearly  two  full  school  years  of  the 
present  length  will  be  added  to  the  public  schooling  of  the  youth ;  and  the  Commis- 
sion recommends  such  an  increase. 

The  Commission  also  recommends  that  all  specially  incorporated  school  districts 
be  dissolved  and  that  such  districts  be  brought  under  the  operation  of  general  laws 
common  to  all  parts  of  the  state. 


Vocational  Education 

The  Commission  believes  that  the  vocational  needs  of  the  state  are  mainly 
agricultural  and  that  vocational  education  should  be  emphatically  directed  to  the 
training  of  the  youth  of  the  state  in  scientifically  practical  agriculture. 

The  Commission's  recommendations  respecting  vocational  education  may  be 
summarized  as  follows:— 

1.  The  instruction  in  the  public  schools  to  be  of  that  character  to  educate  the 
youth  toward  the  occupations  of  the  communities  in  which  they  live. 

2.  The  establishment  in  the  junior  high  schools  of  semi-vocational  courses  offer- 
ing opportunities  for  instruction  in  commercial  subjects,  domestic  science,  manual 


SUMMARY  7 

training,  and  agriculture,  appropriate  to  the  needs  and  environment  of  the  partic- 
ular school. 

3.  The  establishment  in  the  senior  high  schools  of  high  grade  courses  in  agricul- 
ture, together  with  courses  in  manual  training,  commercial  subjects  and  domestic 
science. 

4.  The  strengthening  of  the  equipment  and  teaching  staff  of  the  State  Agricul- 
tural School  and  the  increase  of  its  appropriations;  and  the  development  therein  of 
courses  in  manual  training,  incident  to  agricultural  training,  and  in  some  measure 
fitting  for  the  pursuit  of  the  manual  trades  as  vocations. 

5.  State  appropriations,  to  be  expended  under  an  arrangement  with  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  for  the  purpose  of:  (a)  Train- 
ing teachers  in  agriculture  for  the  high  schools;  (b)  Cooperating  with  the  Federal 
extension  work  in  agriculture. 


Training  of  Teachers 

The  discontinuance  of  the  normal  schools  at  Castleton  and  Johnson  and  the  de- 
velopment of  the  training  courses  in  the  secondary  schools,  for  the  training  of 
teachers  for  the  elementary  schools  and  the  earlier  years  of  the  junior  high  schools, 
is  recommended.  By  reason  of  the  peculiar  value  to  Vermont  of  secondary-school 
teachers  trained  in  the  state,  the  Commission  recommends  that  provision  for  the 
training  of  such  teachers  be  made  through  an  arrangement  by  the  state  board  of 
education  with  Middlebury  College;  and  that  provision  for  the  training  of  secondary- 
school  teachers  of  agriculture  for  the  senior  high  schools  and  the  State  Agricultural 
School  be  made  through  an  arrangement  by  the  state  board  of  education  with  the 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College. 


Administration 

The  Commission  recommends  agencies  for  administration  adequate  to  the  op- 
eration of  the  public  school  system  under  the  proposed  reorganization. 


State  Aid  to  Higher  Education 

The  Commission  finds  that  all  institutions  of  higher  learning  within  the  state 
are  private  institutions  and  not  entitled  of  right  to  state  aid.  The  Commis- 
sion finds  that  Vermont  should  not  give  financial  aid  to  institutions  of  higher 
learning  until  it  has  performed  its  full  constitutional  duty  to  its  public  schools, 
and  that  all  state  aid  to  such  institutions,  for  the  present  at  least,  should  be  extended 
only  in  return  for  the  performance  by  such  institutions  of  some  specific  service 


8  SUMMARY 

needed  by  the  state  in  the  carrying  out  of  its  poHcies  respecting  the  elementary  and 
the  secondary  schools.  The  Commission  finds  that  the  state,  in  proportion  to  its 
property  valuation,  has  been  making  appropriations  to  higher  education  far  be- 
yond those  made  by  any  other  of  the  New  England  states  or  by  the  state  of  New 
York.  In  proportion  to  its  property  valuation  Vermont  is  appropriating  to  insti- 
tutions of  higher  education  1.7  times  the  appropriation  of  Maine,  nearly  three 
times  the  appropriation  of  Connecticut,  more  than  four  times  the  appropriation 
of  New  Hampshire,  more  than  eight  times  the  appropriation  of  Massachusetts, 
more  than  nine  times  the  appropriation  of  Rhode  Island,  more  than  thirty-four 
times  the  appropriation  of  New  York;  and  if  appropriations  in  New  York,  by  way 
of  scholarships,  provided  by  recent  legislation,  are  included  in  the  maximum  amount 
provided  by  such  legislation,  still  Vermont  is  appropriating  more  than  twenty- 
eight  times  the  appropriation  of  New  York. 

The  Commission  finds  that  in  so  discontinuing  state  aid  to  higher  education 
the  state  is  in  no  way  laying  itself  open  to  a  charge  of  failure  of  duty  to  its  youth 
and  that  a  continuance  of  such  appropriations  in  present  amount  would  be  a  gross 
neglect  of  such  duty  under  the  Constitution. 


Use  or  Federal  Appropriations  by  the  University 
OF  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College 

The  Federal  appropriations  to  land-grant  colleges  for  instruction  in  agriculture 
and  mechanic  arts  are  owned  by  the  state  and  have  been  expended  by  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  provisions 
of  the  trust  imposed  upon  such  appropriations.  The  Commission  does  not  find 
that  in  the  expenditure  of  the  appropriations  received  under  the  first  Morrill  Act 
(1862),  and  the  Acts  of  Congress  pertaining  to  agricultural  experiment  stations, 
the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  has  deviated  from  the 
course  contemplated  by  those  acts.  The  Commission  finds,  however,  that  in  the 
expenditure  of  the  appropriations  received  under  the  Acts  of  Congress  of  1890 
and  1907,  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  has  departed 
from  the  true  spirit,  intent,  and  meaning  of  such  trust,  in  this,  that  said  institu- 
tion has  not  expended  said  funds  in  instruction  in  the  branches  named  in  said  acts 
with  special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the  industries  of  life,  as  they  exist  in 
this  state,  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction,  as  required,  in  that  a  dispropor- 
tionately small  part  thereof  has  been  applied  to  agriculture,  Vermont's  predomina- 
ting industry  of  life. 

Ways  and  Means 
The  financial  support  of  schools  is  discussed  and  recommendations  made. 


Ill 

THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

In  an  investigation  of  the  entire  educational  system  and  conditions  of  the  state, 
no  one  part  of  the  system  can  be  treated  separate  from  the  others.  They  are  all 
parts  of  one  structure  and  the  foundation  upon  which  it  rests  is  the  first  and  most 
important  subject  of  investigation.  Of  what  value  is  a  superstructure  reared  upon 
sand?  Towers  and  turrets  must  be  broadly  bedded  in  rock.  Unquestionably 
that  part  of  our  educational  system  that  pertains  to  the  elementary  schools  is  the 
foundation  of  the  whole.  It  must  first  be  made  sound.  This  done,  the  upper 
reaches  of  the  structure  must  be  brought  into  harmony  not  only  with  the  lower 
walls  but  with  the  environment  in  which  it  rests.  As  the  environment  of  one 
state  differs  from  that  of  another,  so  environment  within  the  state  varies.  Al- 
though Vermont  has  no  large  cities,  there  is  necessarily  a  difference  between  urban 
and  rural  environment  within  her  borders,  and  her  natural  conformation  is  respon- 
sible for  marked  differences  of  environment  in  her  rural  sections.  Some  of  the 
farming  districts  are  more  thickly  settled  and  easily  accessible,  others  are  remote 
and  sparsely  populated.  No  particular  section  of  the  state  can  be  considered  alone. 
The  state  must  be  considered  as  a  whole.  Her  educational  system  of  organiza- 
tion is  the  town  system.  The  Commission  here  undertakes  to  deal  with  that 
system,  and  by  way  of  change  in  regulations,  and  a  reorganization,  to  promote 
educational  advantages  throughout  the  state.  That  regulations  can  be  had  that 
will  operate  to  the  equal  advantage  of  all,  regardless  of  circumstances  and  condi- 
tions, is  too  much  to  expect.  Yet  such  advantages  can  be  afforded  to  an  approxi- 
mate and  reasonable  degree  by  properly  applying  the  just  and  fundamental  prin- 
ciple that  regard  must  be  had  to  securing  the  greatest  possible  accommodation 
and  advantage  to  the  greatest  number  of  inhabitants,  though  it  may  necessitate 
more  exertion  on  the  part  of  the  smaller  number  to  avail  themselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunities  offered. 

For  a  proper  view  of  the  educational  system  and  conditions  of  Vermont  regard 
must  be  had  to  the  state's  sovereign  duties  and  obligations.  The  Declaration  of 
the  Rights  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  a  part  of  the  Constitution, 
declares  that  all  men  are  born  equally  free  and  independent,  and  have  certain  natu- 
ral, inherent,  and  unalienable  rights,  among  which  are  the  enjoying  and  defend- 
ing life,  and  liberty;  acquiring,  possessing,  and  protecting  property;  and  pursuing 
and  obtaining  happiness  and  safety;  that  the  people  of  the  state,  by  the  legal  rep- 
resentatives, have  the  sole,  exclusive,  and  inherent  right  of  governing  and  regu- 
lating the  internal  police  of  the  same;  that  government  is  or  ought  to  be,  instituted 
for  the  common  benefit,  protection,  and  security  of  the  people,  nation  or  community; 
and  not  for  the  particular  emolument  or  advantage  of  any  single  man,  family,  or 
set  of  men,  who  are  a  part  only  of  that  community;  that  frequent  recurrence  to 
fundamental  principles,  and  a  firm  adherence  to  justice,  moderation,  temperance. 


10  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

industry  and  frugality,  are  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve  the  blessings  of  liberty, 
and  keep  government  free. 

In  providing  organic  machinery  for  the  application  of  these  basic  principles  of 
law  to  the  government  of  the  state,  the  fathers  of  the  constitution  were  well  aware 
that  the  public  good,  the  public  welfare,  and  the  public  convenience  were  consid- 
erations of  first  importance,  that  the  encouragement  of  virtue  and  the  prevention 
of  vice  and  immorality  would  go  far  toward  securing  an  adequate  regulation  of 
the  internal  police  of  the  state,  and  that  for  the  gaining  of  these  ends  nothing  was 
more  potent  than  the  proper  instruction  of  the  youth. 

The  first  Constitution  of  the  State  (1777).     Chapter  II,  Section  40,  reads: — 

"A  School  or  Schools  shall  be  established  in  each  town  by  the  Legislature,  for 
the  convenient  Instruction  of  Youth,  with  such  Salaries  to  the  masters,  paid  by 
each  town,  making  proper  Use  of  School-lands  in  each  town,  thereby  to  enable 
them  to  instruct  Youth  at  low  Prices: — One  Grammar  School  in  each  County, 
and  one  University  in  this  State,  ought  to  be  established  by  Direction  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly." 

Section  41  reads: — 

"Laws  for  the  Encouragement  of  Virtue,  and  Prevention  of  Vice  and  Immorality, 
shall  be  made,  and  kept  constantly  in  force;  and  Provision  shall  be  made  for  their 
due  Execution:  And  all  rehgious  Societies,  or  bodies  of  men,  that  have,  or  may  be 
hereafter  united  and  incorporated,  for  the  Advancement  of  Religion  and  Learn- 
ing, or  for  other  pious  and  charitable  Purposes,  shall  be  encouraged  and  protected 
in  the  Enjoyment  of  the  Privileges  Immunities  and  Estates,  which  they  in  justice 
ought  to  enjoy,  under  such  Regulations  as  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State 
shall  direct." 

In  the  Constitution  of  1786,  some  of  the  foregoing  provisions  were  dropped  out, 
and  the  two  sections  united  into  section  38,  reading  as  follows: — 

"Laws  for  the  encouragement  of  virtue,  and  prevention  of  vice  and  immorality, 
ought  to  be  constantly  kept  in  force,  and  duly  executed :  and  a  competent  number 
of  schools  ought  to  be  maintained  in  each  town,  for  the  convenient  instruction  of 
youth;  and  one  or  more  grammar  schools  be  incorporated,  and  properly  supported, 
in  each  county  in  this  State.  And  all  religious  societies,  or  bodies  of  men,  that 
may  be  hereafter  united  or  incorporated,  for  the  advancement  of  religion  and  learn- 
ing, or  for  other  pious  and  charitable  purposes,  shall  be  encouraged  and  protected, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  the  privileges,  immunities,  and  estates,  which  they  in  justice 
ought  to  enjoy,  under  such  regulations  as  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State  shall 
direct." 

Without  change  in  substance,  these  provisions  have  hitherto  remained  a  part 
of  the  organic  law  of  the  state.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  contemplated  char- 
acter (public  or  private)  of  the  grammar  schools  mentioned  in  the  Constitution 
of  1777,  it  seems  clear  that  the  grammar  schools  mentioned  in  the  section  quoted 
from  the  Constitution  of  1786,  to  "be  incorporated,  and  properly  supported,  in 


THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS  11 

each  county,"  were,  in  contemplation,  like  academies,  simply  private  institutions. 

Within  the  succeeding  twenty-five  years,  at  least  one  of  these  county  grammar 
schools  in  each  county,  except  perhaps  Grand  Isle,  was  incorporated  and  supjjorted 
by  the  state  by  way  of  the  "Grammar  School  Lands"  in  the  same  county,  granted 
to  it  by  the  General  Assembly  to  hold  and  lease  for  its  use  and  benefit.  There  seems 
never  to  have  been  any  statute  giving  such  schools  public  support  by  way  of  tax- 
ation or  otherwise, in  addition  to  that  derived  from  the  "Grammar  School  Lands." 
These  lands  are  more  particularly  noticed  in  another  connection. 

The  clause  of  the  Constitution,  then,  essential  to  our  consideration  at  this  time 
is  the  one  reading,  "A  competent  number  of  schools  ought  to  be  maintained  in 
each  town,  for  the  convenient  instruction  of  youth." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  by  this  clause  of  the  Constitution  schools  must  be  com- 
petent in  number,  and  in  instruction  must  be  convenient  for  the  youth.  In  the 
judgment  of  the  Commission,  the  word  "competent"  as  there  used,  means  "ade- 
quate, sufiicient,"  and  the  word  "convenient,"  as  there  used,  means  "affording 
accommodation,  advantage."  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  contemporaneous 
l)ractical  construction  given  by  the  legislature  from  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution  of  1786  to  the  time  when  the  district  system  was  abolished  and 
the  town  system  adopted  in  1892,  more  than  a  century;  a  construction  that  has 
been  acquiesced  in  and  accepted  as  correct  by  the  highest  court  of  the  state.  Call- 
ing attention  to  the  statutes  and  the  declarations  of  the  court,  in  this  respect, 
should  be  quite  sufiicient  to  convince  one  of  the  accuracy  of  the  construction  here 
given.  By  statute  passed  March  3,  1787,  towns  that  could  not  be  conveniently 
accommodated  by  one  school,  were  given  power  to  divide  into  so  many  districts 
as  they  should  find  convenient.  The  Revision  of  1797  (one  of  the  revisors  being 
Nathaniel  Chipman,  recently  referred  to  by  the  late  Chief  Justice  Rowell  as  "That 
great  lawyer  *  *  *  who  was  prominently  active  in  public  affairs  during  the  forma- 
tive period  of  the  Constitution,  and  must  have  been  imbued  with  its  spirit  and 
meaning"),  Chapter  LIV,  Section  1,  reads: 

"It  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  That  each 
organized  town  in  this  state,  shall  keep  and  support  a  school  or  schools  for  the 
instruction  of  youth,  in  English  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic;  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  such  towns,  in  which  the  youth  cannot  conveniently  be  accommodated 
with  one  school,  are  hereby  empowered  at  a  legal  meeting  notified  for  that  purj)Ose, 
by  vote  or  otherwise,  to  divide  such  towns  into  as  many  school  districts  as  they 
shall  judge  most  convenient,  which  districts  may,  in  like  manner,  be  altered  from 
time  to  time,  as  occasion  may  require.  *  *  *  " 

And  the  statute  (R.  L.  499)  relating  to  that  subject,  which  was  repealed  at  the 
time  of  the  adoption  of  the  town  system,  reads: 

"When  the  inhabitants  of  a  town  can  not  be  conveniently  accommodated  in 
one  district,  such  town  shall,  at  a  meeting  warned  for  the  purpose,  divide  the 
town  into  several  districts  and  determine  their  limits." 


U  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

In  1860,  the  Supreme  Court,  (in  Williams  v.  School  District  No.  6,  in  Newfane^ 
33  Vt.  271)  speaking  through  Judge  Luke  P.  Poland,  said: 

"From  the  earliest  period  in  this  State,  the  proper  education  of  all  the  children 
of  its  inhabitants  has  been  regarded  as  a  matter  of  vital  interest  to  the  State,  a 
duty  which  devolved  upon  its  govermnent,  and  which  should  be  fulfilled  at  the 
public  expense. 

"The  constitution  of  the  State  especially  enjoins  upon  the  legislature  the  duty  of 
passing  laws  to  carry  out  this  object,  and  declares  that  a  competent  number  of 
schools  ought  to  be  maintained  in  each  town,  for  the  convenient  instruction  of 
youth. 

"The  legislature  of  the  State,  in  obedience  to  this  injunction  of  the  constitution, 
have  from  the  first,  taken  this  subject  in  hand,  and  provided  by  law  for  the  support 
of  schools  at  the  public  expense,  and  it  has  always  been  understood  to  be  one  of 
the  first  and  highest  duties  of  the  government. 

"In  order  to  attain  and  effectuate  this  wise  and  beneficial  purpose,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  some  system  should  be  devised  by  which  the  State  should  be  divided 
into  such  convenient  territorial  sub-divisions  as  would  bring  schools  within  reach 
of  all  its  inhabitants. 

"It  was  therefore  early  provided  by  law,  that  each  town  should  keep  and  maintain 
at  least  one  school  within  its  limits,  and  when  all  the  inhabitants  of  any  town 
could  not  conveniently  be  accommodated  at  one  school,  it  was  made  the  duty 
of  such  town  to  divide  the  town  into  such  number  of  school  districts  as  would  be 
convenient  for  the  inhabitants. 


"Without  making  further  reference  to  the  almost  numberless  acts  of  the  legisla- 
ture, exhibiting  the  most  active  watchfulness  and  fostering  care,  for  the  cause  of 
popular  education,  enough  has  already  been  stated  to  show  that  the  whole  subject 
of  the  maintenance  and  support  of  common  schoo.s  has  ever  been  regarded  in 
this  State  as  one  not  only  of  public  usefulness,  but  of  public  necessity,  and  one 
which  the  State  in  its  sovereign  character  was  bound  to  sustain." 

Again  in  1894,  that  court,  (in  Town  of  Barre  v.  School  District  No.  13  in  Barre, 
67  Vt.  108)  speaking  through  Chief  Judge  Ross,  said  that  by  the  law  of  1892, 
adopting  the  town  system,  the  several  school  districts  theretofore  existing  in  the 
towns,  ceased  to  exist,  "except  for  the  settlement  of  their  pecuniary  affairs,"  and 
each  town  was  made  into  a  single  district  for  school  purposes;  that  "It  is  still  the 
policy  of  the  state  to  educate  all  its  youth.     They  are  still  its  beneficiaries." 

If  anything  were  necessary  to  lend  emphasis  to  the  policy  thus  declared  to 
furnish  an  education  to  all  the  youth  of  the  state,  it  may  be  had  from  the  facts 
that  in  the  charters  of  the  towns,  land,  aggregating  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
acres,  was  reserved  for  the  support  of  the  town  schools;  that  in  1794  the  legislature 


THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS  13 

passed  an  act  declaring  that  the  lands  in  the  state  theretofore  granted  by  the 
British  government  "to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts"  (a  British  corporation),  by  reason  of  the  "late  Revolution"  became  vested 
in  the  state;  and  that  "whereas  it  appears  to  this  legislature,  that  said  lands  might 
be  more  useful,  if  granted  for  the  purpose  of  education,  than  in  any  other  way,"— 
the  said  several  rights  of  land  were  then  granted  severally  to  the  respective  towns 
in  which  such  lands  lie,  to  their  respective  uses  forever,  for  school  purposes;  that 
in  1805  an  act  was  passed,  declaring  the  several  glebe-rights  in  this  state,  granted 
by  the  British  government  to  the  Church  of  England,  to  be  in  the  nature  of  public 
reserves,  and  that  as  such  they  became  vested  by  the  Revolution  in  the  sovereignty 
of  the  state,  by  which  act  the  said  rights  were  severally  granted  to  the  respective 
towns  in  which  the  lands  lie,  to  their  respective  use  and  uses  forever,  for  school 
purposes;  that  in  1825  the  amount  of  the  avails  accrued  to  the  state  from  the  "late 
Vermont  State  Bank"  were  by  act  of  the  legislature  sequestered  and  granted  to  the 
respective  towns  in  this  state  "for  the  benefit  of  common  schools,  and  to  no  other 
use;  to  be  managed  as  a  school  fund,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  in  this  act,  *  *  *" 
By  the  same  act  the  amount  of  state's  funds  accruing  from  six  per  cent  on  the  net 
profits  of  state  banks,  and  accrued  from  licenses  to  peddlers  should  be  sequestered 
and  granted  to  the  respective  towns  in  the  state  for  the  same  purpose,  and  to  be 
managed  in  the  same  way — all  these  moneys  to  constitute  a  "state  school  fund" 
to  be  invested  in  the  securities  there  stated,  "in  order  that  the  same  may  be  a 
productive  and  accumulating  fund."  It  was  therein  further  provided  that  this 
accumulating  school  fund  should  not  be  diminished,  improved,  or  appropriated 
to  the  use  of  schools,  until  the  amount  of  principal  should  increase  to  a  sum  suffi- 
cient to  yield  an  annual  profit  and  interest  "adequate  to  defray  the  current  expenses 
of  keeping  a  good,  free,  common  school  in  each  district  in  the  respective  towns,  for 
the  period  of  two  months  in  each  and  every  year."  It  does  not  lessen  the  signifi- 
cance of  these  early  statutes  that  in  1845,  all  of  the  laws  respecting  this  "state 
school  fund"  were  repealed  and  all  the  moneys,  securities,  etc.,  constituting  "the 
state  school  fund,"  were  transferred  to  and  made  the  property  of  the  state. 

The  fact  that  the  Constitution  requires  an  opportunity  for  the  instruction  of 
youth  in  the  common  schools  in  each  town,  does  not  prevent  the  legislature  from 
adopting  regulations  that  will,  in  some  circumstances,  require  at  public  expense 
their  instruction  in  advanced  studies  outside  the  town. 

Legislation  of  this  character  was  had  as  early  as  1894  (No.  19),  and  laws  to  that 
effect  have  ever  since  existed.  This  is  noticed  more  particularly  further  on,  in 
connection  with  our  discussion  of  high  schools.  For  the  better  understanding  of 
the  essential  elements  entering  into  the  regulations  pertaining  to  the  school  system 
as  we  proceed,  however,  we  deem  it  necessary  to  state  here  that  the  educational 
system  of  the  state  includes  not  only  the  proper  instruction  of  the  youth  in  public 
elementary  schools,  but  in  public  high  schools  also,  when  pupils  are  fitted  therefor, 
and  desire  it;  that  a  general  classification  distinguishing  these  two  grades  of  in- 


U  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

struction  has  more  or  less  broadly  existed  under  the  statute  for  more  than  seventy 
years;  that  at  the  present  time  the  high  schools  are  sub-classified;  and  that  in  this 
report  such  a  general  classification,  and  subclass  divisions  respecting  both  the 
elementary  schools  and  the  high  schools,  are  made,  as  seem  based  upon  reasonable 
grounds  and  requisite  to  more  effective  practical  operation. 


1.  Elementary  Schools 

No.  20,  Acts  of  1892,  (making  the  town  system  compulsory).  Section  5,  reads: 

"Said  board  of  school  directors  shall  have  the  care  of  the  school  property  of  the 
town  and  the  management  of  its  schools,  determine  the  number  and  location  of 
its  schools,  *  *  *" 

Section  6  reads : 

"In  every  town  there  shall  be  kept  for  at  least  twenty-six  weeks  in  each  year,  at 
the  expense  of  said  town,  *  *  *  a  sufficient  number  of  schools  for  the  instruction 
of  all  the  children  who  may  legally  attend  all  the  public  schools  therein;  *  *  * 

"Said  schools  shall  be  within  the  limits  of  said  town,  and  at  such  places,  and 
held  at  such  times  as,  in  the  judgment  of  the  board  of  directors,  will  best  subserve 
the  interests  of  education  and  give  all  the  scholars  of  the  town  as  nearly  equal 
advantages  as  may  be  practicable;  and  said  school  board  may  use  a  portion  of  the 
school  money,  not  exceeding  25  per  cent,  thereof,  for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
scholars  to  and  from  such  schools." 

In  the  respects  mentioned,  the  present  statutory  provisions  are  substantially 
the  same,  except  that  thirty  weeks  of  school  is  required  and  the  board  of  school 
directors  is  authorized  to  designate  the  school  which  shall  be  attended  by  the 
various  pupils,  and  may,  in  its  discretion,  provide  conveyance  for  pupils,  or  may 
pay  a  reasonable  sum  for  their  board  while  in  attendence  upon  school. 

A  careful  examination  of  our  statute  law  regulating  public  instruction  under  the 
present  system  seems  to  satisfy  one  that  not  much  heed  is  given  to  the  requirements 
of  the  Constitution,  that  a  competent  number  of  schools  shall  be  had,  affording 
convenient  accommodation  to  the  youth.  These  provisions  are  fundamental 
principles  safeguarding  the  educational  advantages  of  the  children  of  the  state. 
Formerly,  their  observance  was  by  way  of  dividing  the  town  into  as  many  school 
districts  as  were  necessary  to  effect  the  purpose,  the  maintenance  of  a  school  being 
required  in  each  district.  The  town  now  being  all  in  one  school  district,  observance 
of  those  provisions  must  be  had  by  the  requisite  number  and  the  proper  locations 
of  separate  schools  in  that  district. 

By  the  terms  of  this  statute,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Commission,  the  board  of 
school  directors  may  locate  the  schools  upon  a  basis  that  does  not  include  the 
constitutional  element  of  convenience  to  the  youth.  By  the  constitutional  pro- 
vision, to  which  reference  has  been  made,  the  rule  or  standard  is  fixed  by  which  the 


ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  15 

number  and  the  location  of  schools  are  to  be  determined,  and  thereby  equal  educa- 
tional advantages  to  the  youth  throughout  the  town,  as  far  as  the  conditions  and 
circumstances  will  reasonably  permit,  are  guaranteed.  The  discretion  of  the 
board  of  school  directors  in  these  respects  must  be  exercised  within  the  bounds  of 
reason,  ever  guided  by  the  rule  or  standard  so  fixed.  A  .statute,  therefore,  by  the 
terms  of  which  the  location  of  schools  may  be  made  by  the  board  of  .school  direct- 
ors without  the  consideration  of  such  rule  or  standard,  leaves  too  much  room  for 
the  play  and  action  of  power,  purely  personal  and  arbitrary.  To  say  the  least,  it 
jeopardizes  rights  which  should  be  guarded  and  held  sacred  as  within  the  ever 
declared  educational  policy  of  the  state. 

It  should  seem  that  the  due  observance  of  this  right,  and  indeed  the  general 
welfare  of  the  people,  demand  that  by  statute  the  elementary  schools  be  sufficient 
in  number,  and  of  such  quality,  and  severally  so  located  in  the  towns,  as  to  furnish 
adequate  and  reasonably  convenient  opportunity  for  the  children  to  receive  such 
instruction  in  the  fundamental  branches  as  shall  qualify  them  for  entrance  in  the 
secondary  schools,  if  study  therein  be  contemplated,  or  together  with  subsequent 
vocational  training  (more  particularly  discussed  under  that  head),  shall  give  them 
to  some  appreciable  degree  a  practical  fit  for  their  intended  lives'  work  and  for  the 
proper  performance,  in  the  true  sense,  of  the  ordinary  duties  of  American  citizen- 
ship. And  the  furnishing  of  educational  facilities  being  of  state  concern,  the 
statute  may  well  provide  that  in  thus  locating  schools,  town  lines  shall  be  deemed 
of  secondary  importance. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  locating  of  the  elementary  schools  in  accordance  with 
the  above  recommendations  works  a  substantial  departure  from  the  idea  of  cen- 
tralization, the  one  principle  of  the  tow  n  system  relied  upon  more  than  any  other 
as  tending  to  efficiency  in  instruction,  and  to  economy  in  expense.  True  it  is  that 
centralization  of  elementary,  as  well  as  secondary  schools,  is  desirable  on  both  of  the 
grounds  mentioned,  if  not  carried  so  far  as,  in  practical  operation,  to  work  a  sub- 
stantial violation  of  the  guaranteed  coordinated  rights  of  competency  in  number 
and  of  convenience  in  educational  advantages,  or  to  prevent  such  a  classification 
of  the  schools  as  is  essential  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  state,  or  to  make  the  matter 
of  expense  of  the  schools,  instead  of  their  suitableness  to  the  public  need,  the  con- 
trolling element  of  consideration.  A  statute  regulating  the  number  and  location 
of  elementary  schools  in  the  several  towns  should  not  "leave  room  for  the  play  and 
action  of  purely  personal  and  arbitrary  power."  It  was  said  long  ago  by  one  of 
the  greatest  jurists  this  country  has  produced,  and  quoted  with  approval  by  the 
highest  court  in  the  land  (in  Yick  Wo  v.  Hopkins,  118  U.  S.  35C),  "That  in  all  cases 
where  the  Constitution  has  conferred  a  political  right  or  privilege,  and  where  the 
Constitution  has  not  particularly  designated  the  manner  in  which  that  right  is  to 
be  exercised,  it  is  clearly  within  the  just  and  constitutional  limits  of  the  legislative 
power,  to  adopt  any  reasonable  and  uniform  regulations,  in  regard  to  the  time  and 
mode  of  exercising  that  right,  which  are  designed  to  secure  and  facilitate  the  exer- 


16  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

cise  of  such  right,  in  a  prompt,  orderly  and  convenient  manner;"  but  "Such  a 
construction  would  afford  no  warrant  for  such  an  exercise  of  legislative  power  as, 
under  the  pretense  and  color  of  regulating,  should  subvert  or  injuriously  restrain 
the  right  itself." 

The  reasons  why  the  elementary  schools  should  be  located  in  accordance  with 
the  recommendations  made  above  are  cogent  and,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Com- 
mission, so  forcible  as  to  exclude  any  other  conclusion  on  reasonable  grounds.  By 
the  statute,  as  before  seen,  public  schools  are  divided  into  two  classes,  the  elemen- 
tary and  the  secondary.  No  one  can  well  say  that  such  a  classification  (leaving 
the  point  of  division  to  be  discussed  later)  is  not  based  upon  a  sufficient  difference 
existing  in  the  ages,  needs,  and  acquirements  of  the  youth,  nor  that  the  difference 
in  requirements  as  to  the  number  and  location  of  the  schools  so  classified,  is  not 
well  founded  in  the  large  number  of  youth  to  be  provided  for  in  the  schools  of  the 
one  class  and  the  comparatively  small  number  to  be  provided  for  in  the  schools 
of  the  other  class.  It  is  a  common  principle  that  a  classification  may  properly  be 
made,  and,  for  the  practical  and  efficient  operation  of  the  educational  system,  should 
be  made,  when  it  is  based  upon  some  difference  having  a  reasonable  and  just  rela- 
tion to  the  object  sought,  in  this  instance,  to  the  education  of  the  youth,  giving 
such  reasonably  convenient  accommodations  as  the  conditions  and  the  circum- 
stances in  the  particular  town  may  require,  without  unequal  and  unjust  discrimina- 
tion, considering  the  location,  conditions,  and  need  of  the  inhabitants,  in  the 
advantages  afforded.  Speaking  generally,  the  interests  of  the  inhabitants  in  the 
rural  sections  pertain  more  particularly  to  agriculture.  The  children  there  are 
reared  in  an  agricultural  atmosphere,  consequently  nothing  is  more  natural  than 
that  their  ideas  are  so  developed  and  their  characters  so  molded  as  most  likely  to 
result  in  their  lives'  work  being  in  the  line  of  agricultural  pursuits;  while  in  the 
thickly  settled  centers  of  population  the  interests  of  the  people  are  in  character 
largely  manufacturing,  commercial,  clerical,  or  professional.  By  the  principle  of 
adaptation,  the  development  of  a  child  is  strikingly  in  accordance  with  the  influence 
of  his  environment.  The  children  in  such  centers  of  population  are  reared  amid 
surroundings  and  conditions  so  different  from  those  obtaining  in  the  rural  sections, 
that  the  tendencies  there  created  are  not  toward  the  business  of  farming,  but 
towards  vocations  so  dissimilar  to  it  as  to  require,  outside  of  the  ordinary  funda- 
mental branches  necessarily  common  to  all,  special  preparations  therefor.  Weigh- 
ing these  matters  according  to  their  importance,  the  one  fair  and  just  conclusion 
is  that  there  should  be  in  every  town  as  many  elementary  schools,  both  rural  and 
urban,  as  the  number  of  children  of  the  ages  and  acquirements  necessitating  their 
reasonably  convenient  accommodation  shall  require;  with  provisions,  as  above 
mentioned,  permitting  the  location  of  schools,  in  certain  circumstances,  so  as  to 
afford  convenient  accommodation  to  youth  from  an  adjoining  town  as  well.  It 
seems  to  the  Commission  that  nothing  short  of  this  will  fairly  meet  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  provisions  of  the  organic  law  of  the  state  respecting  this  class  of  schools, 


ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  17 

and  that  nothing  short  of  this  will  do  approximately  equal  justice  to  all  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  towns,  those  of  the  rural  communities  as  well  as  those  of  the  thickly 
settled  villages  and  cities. 

By  Public  Statutes  (sec.  1027,  as  amended  by  Acts  of  1910,  No.  69,  sec.  1),  "The 
words  'legal  pupils'  shall  include  persons  between  the  ages  of  five  and  eighteen 
years,  but  no  person  over  five  years  of  age  shall  be  deprived  of  public  school  advan- 
tages on  account  of  age."  Under  the  present  general  classification  mentioned 
above,  the  first  eight  years  are  within  the  elementary  class,  and  all  subsequent 
thereto  are  supposed  to  be  within  the  secondary  class. 

It  appears  from  the  facts  reported  to  the  Commission,  that  the  number  of  children 
in  the  state  within  the  school  age  thus  fixed,  is  about  83,000,  of  which  approximately 
57,000  are  attending  the  elementary  schools;  that  "Taking  the  national  census  as 
a  basis,  and  assuming  the  ages  from  15  to  18,  inclusive,  to  be  the  normal  ages"  of 
children  for  secondary  schooling,  approximately  77  per  cent  never  receive  instruc- 
tion in  any  school  above  the  elementary;  that  54  per  cent  of  the  children  live  in 
the  country — outside  the  villages  and  cities,  the  large  centers  of  population;  that 
nearly  95  per  cent  of  them  are  native  born;  and  that  comparatively  few  children 
enter  school  before  six,  and  almost  none  remain  in  the  elementary  schools  after 
sixteen  years  of  age. 

It  is  the  belief  of  the  Commission  that  Vermont  cannot  at  present,  on  any  sound 
and  reasonable  basis,  be  considered  otherwise  than  an  agricultural  state.  Though 
true  it  is  that  manufacturing  industries  will  probably  increase  as  the  water  powers 
in  the  state  are  more  and  more  developed  and  utilized  through  the  application  of 
modern  agencies,  naturally  resulting  in  enlarging  the  centers  of  settlement,  yet  it 
may  be  said,  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that  with  the  school  system 
reorganized  in  a  way  to  afford  suitable  and  reasonably  convenient  instruction  to 
the  youth  within  the  atmosphere  of  their  own  environments,  as  it  should  be  in  order 
to  meet  the  fundamental  requirements,  governing  public  education  in  this  state, 
agriculture  may  fairly  be  expected  to  hold  its  own  in  the  race  for  predominance  for 
many  years  to  come. 

It  follows  from  the  above,  that  the  relative  industrial  importance  of  the  agri- 
cultural interests  as  one  class,  and  the  other  interests  of  the  state  as  another  class, 
is  such  that  each  of  the  two  classes  is  entitled  to  thoughtful  consideration  in  solving 
the  problem  particularly  connected  with  the  elementary  schools. 

The  boys  and  girls  of  today  are  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  tomorrow,  and  upon 
them  depend  the  future  civic  life,  the  prosperity,  and  the  industrial  standing  of  the 
state.  Any  educational  regulation,  therefore,  the  natural  tendency  of  which  is  to 
draw  the  boys  and  girls,  bred  and  born  to  the  farm,  permanently  away  from  it,  or 
the  natural  tendency  of  which  is  to  draw  the  boys  and  girls,  bred  and  born  to 
other  industrial  pursuits,  permanently  away  from  them,  instead  of  leaving  them 
to  their  natural  inclinations  influenced  by  physical  conditions  surrounding  them 
(using  language  of  Professor  W.  J.  Sutherland  of  Wisconsin),  "to  develop,  dwell, 


18  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

and  enter  into  the  industrial  pursuits  of  the  neighborhood  or  locality  in  which  they 
were  born,"  is  radically  wrong,  not  in  harmony  with  the  best  interests  of  the  people, 
and  some  way  should  be  devised  to  remedy  it. 

In  the  instruction  now  provided  in  the  elementary  schools,  stress  is  placed  not 
upon  the  need  of  the  pupil  as  a  member  of  the  society  in  which  he  lives,  but  rather 
upon  the  artificial  educational  requirements  of  the  secondary  schools.  What  the 
elementary  school  teaches  should  be  given  out  by  the  teacher  and  taken  in  by  the 
child  as  learning  in  itself  and  not  merely  as  training  for  further  learning.  Today 
there  is  less  danger  of  becoming  satisfied  with  the  doing  of  what  is  in  hand  to  do 
and  losing  sight  of  the  larger  things  ahead  than  of  regarding  the  work  of  the  moment 
of  small  importance  except  as  it  prepares  for  work  to  be  done  later.  Again  refer- 
ring to  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  it  appears,  pages  64-65,  that  taking 
the  last  national  census  as  a  basis,  and  assuming  the  ages  from  15  to  18,  inclusive, 
to  be  the  normal  ages  for  secondary  schooling,  the  state  has  approximately  25,000 
children  to  educate  in  this  way.  The  secondary  schools  of  the  state  at  present 
reach  only  about  23  per  cent,  of  these  children.  Under  the  classification  and 
improvement  of  secondary  schools  hereinafter  recommended,  children  of  the  ages 
of  13  and  14  years  are  included  in  secondary-school  age,  and  this  increases  the 
number  for  training  in  such  schools  to  approximately  37,500;  yet  it  may  be  taken 
as  true  that  even  too  large  a  proportion  of  the  children  in  the  elementary  schools 
will  not  enter  the  high  schools.  It  is  vital,  therefore,  that  they  take  with  them 
from  the  elementary  schools  knowledge  that  is  real  and  useful  in  itself  and  acquire- 
ments that  they  can  apply  in  their  every-day  life.  Those,  too,  who  go  forward  to 
a  secondary  school  should  not  be  required  to  spend  their  time  on  subjects  chiefly 
important  in  meeting  high  school  entrance  standards  as  required  in  the  free  tuition 
examinations.  As  suggested  in  the  Foundation's  report,  with  competent  instruc- 
tion and  supervision,  a  child  should  be  passed  from  one  division  of  the  school  system 
to  another  without  examination.  Clearly,  a  new  course  of  study  is  needed  and  we 
adopt  the  following  recommendations  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  (page  61),  in 
this  respect: 

"For  this  purpose  experienced  teachers  and  superintendents  from  all  parts  of 
the  state  should  be  organized  into  committees  and  brought  together  at  an  early 
date,  in  order  that  the  general  principles  that  shall  govern  the  making  of  the  course 
may  be  fully  explained  and  illustrated.  Not  less  than  two  years  should  be  allowed 
these  committees  in  which  to  prepare  a  tentative  course,  which  should  then  be 
published  and  tried  in  the  schools  for  a  year,  in  order  to  remedy  its  defects  before 
final  adoption.  There  should  be  at  least  two  separate  courses,  one  for  the  rural 
schools  and  one  for  the  graded  schools.  Much  of  the  subject-matter  in  these  two 
courses  would  be  the  same,  but  the  suggestions  and  applications  should  vary 
greatly.  The  various  cities  and  unions  might  add  appropriate  modifications. 
This  method  of  making  a  course  of  study  will  require  a  careful  consideration  of  all 
of  the  conditions  surrounding  the  schools,  and  will  result  in  courses  adapted  to  the 


ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  19 

needs  of  Vermont.  Incidentally,  it  will  greatly  benefit  all  of  those  who  take  part 
in  the  work  of  their  preparation." 

The  need  of  a  new  course  of  study  has  long  been  apparent.  The  trouble  has 
been  chiefly  in  the  manner  of  meeting  it.  Although  the  teaching  of  new  subjects, 
rightly  chosen,  rather  than  new  methods  of  teaching  those  already  in  the  curriculum, 
will  tend  to  awaken  the  child  to  a  lively  interest  in  his  school,  the  advantage,  for 
instance,  of  teaching  agriculture  and  domestic  science  in  a  rural  school  by  a  teacher 
without  instructional  qualifications  therefor,  is  questionable.  The  vital  problem 
of  elementary  rural  school  instruction  rests,  not  in  the  subjects  taught,  although 
more  emphasis  well  might  be  given  to  subjects  other  than  the  "three  R's;"  it  rests 
rather  in  the  failure  to  adapt  the  things  taught  to  the  daily  experience  and  needs 
of  the  child. 

The  Commission  thinks  it  well  said  in  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation 
(page  38),  in  speaking  of  this  class  of  schools: 

"1.  Schools  should  recognize  the  varying  abilities,  experiences,  and  environment 
of  the  children. 

"2.  Schools  should  recognize  both  the  present  and  the  future  needs  of  the  children. 

"3.  The  knowledge  gained  in  school  should  be  so  organized  that  the  children 
can  use  it. 

"4.  In  so  far  as  the  state  assumes  the  responsibility  for  elementary  education, 
the  educational  opportunities  should  be  as  nearly  uniform  throughout  the  state  as 
conditions  will  permit." 

United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  Philander  P.  Claxton,  in  his  report 
for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1913,  (Volume  I,  page  xxx)  under  the  subdivision 
"Redirection  of  the  work  of  the  rural  school,"  says:  "Courses  of  study  in  country 
schools  need  reconstruction  and  their  work  needs  redirection.  As  human  beings 
and  as  citizens,  men  and  women  living  in  the  country  have  the  same  interests  in 
the  humanities  (the  term  is  used  in  its  broad  sense)  and  the  things  pertaining  to 
civic  life  and  citizenship  that  all  other  people  have.  But  as  farmers  and  farmers' 
wives,  making  their  living  from  the  soil  and  living  in  isolated  country  homes,  their 
interests  differ  widely  from  those  of  men  and  women  of  the  laboring  and  professional 
classes  in  the  cities.  However  the  case  may  have  been  in  the  past,  it  has  now 
come  about  that  farmers  need  a  fuller,  more  extensive,  more  varied  and  thorough 
knowledge,  a  more  comprehensive  grasp  of  fundamental  principles,  and  a  greater 
power  of  adjustment  than  men  engaged  in  other  professions.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  farmer's  wife  as  compared  with  other  women  *  *  *.  Their  courses  of  study  neetl 
to  be  remade  on  the  basis  of  what  the  farmer  needs  to  know,  and  their  teaching 
n.ust  take  into  consideration  the  environment  and  the  raw  material  of  experience 
of  the  country  boy  and  girl." 

One  of  the  most  important  educational  problems  in  the  state  is  that  of  the  con- 
solidation of  elementary  schools,  involving  the  question  of  transportation  of  pupils. 


£0  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

As  pointed  out  in  the  Foundation's  report,  opposition  to  consolidation  on  economic 
grounds  is  unwarranted  by  the  facts,  and  sentimental  objections  to  closing  the 
little  school-house  are  more  than  offset  by  the  increased  instructional  benefits 
enjoyed  by  the  pupils.  We  are  firm  in  the  belief  that  here,  as  in  other  parts  of 
the  state's  educational  system,  concentration  and  centralization  within  proper 
limitations  is  a  sound  policy.  We  believe,  however,  that  the  consolidation  of 
schools  as  it  exists  in  more  or  less  instances,  may  be  an  encroachment  on  guaranteed 
rights  and  is  developing  wrong  tendencies.  As  the  environment  and  associations 
of  children  in  the  cities  and  large  villages  differ  greatly  from  those  of  children  in 
the  rural  sections,  the  same  difference  must  necessarily  obtain  in  their  schools  if 
their  instruction  is  to  be  in  harmony  with  their  environment.  Not  that  the 
subjects  taught  are  materially  different,  but  the  manner  in  which  the  instruction 
is  made  plain  to  the  minds  of  the  children  will  vary  as  their  experiences  vary.  It 
is  not  unnatural,  but  inevitable,  that  in  some  urban  schools  receiving  pupils  from 
the  rural  districts,  the  latter  have  come  to  feel  in  a  class  by  themselves.  They 
arrive  at  the  school  just  in  time  in  the  morning  and  leave  together  at  the  close  of 
the  afternoon  session.  They  are  a  body  in  themselves  and  in  the  circumstances 
cannot  amalgamate  with  resident  pupils  either  in  the  life  of  the  school  or  in  those 
outside  associations  that  gather  around  it.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  village 
children  are  exclusive  nor  that  the  country  children  lack  the  social  instinct.  It 
is  simply  an  existent  condition,  and  one  that  deprives  the  latter  of  a  real  school 
life  to  which  they  are  as  much  entitled  as  the  former. 

There  needs  to  be  such  readjustment  of  the  elementary  schools  as  shall  result, 
so  far  as  practicable,  in  the  consolidation  of  rural  schools.  This  is  in  the  line  of 
much  activity  during  the  past  year,  says  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education,  (Report  for  1912-13,  Vol.  1,  page  175,)  and  it  is  "an  indication  of  a 
prevailing  opinion  that  consolidation  will  do  much  to  remedy  the  present  unsatis- 
factory conditions  in  rural  education."  Many  schools,  centrally  located  in  the 
country,  can  have  all  the  advantages  of  grades,  teachers,  and  direct  supervision 
now  enjoyed  by  schools  in*  cities  and  large  villages.  In  the  establishment 
of  these  central  rural  schools,  town  lines  should  give  way  to  the  requirements  of 
topography.  Rural  schools  of  two,  three,  and  even  four  towns,  rightly  located, 
might  well  be  consolidated  at  a  convenient  cross-roads.  The  expense  of  building, 
if  necessary,  and  maintenance,  except  as  borne  by  the  state,  should  be  equitably 
shared  by  the  different  towns  joining  in  such  schools,  and  the  managing  board  of 
directors  should  be  composed  of  one  or  more,  taken  from  the  several  boards  of 
school  directors  in  said  towns.  This  effects  the  same  purpose  as  did  fractional 
school  districts,  formed  of  parts  of  adjoining  towns,  when  the  school  district  system 
obtained.  Such  centralized  rural  schools  should  be  established  by  the  state  board 
of  education.  Their  establishment  would  not  only  develop  a  real  school  life  of 
the  highest  order  for  the  children,  but  would  crystallize  rural  society  around  the 
school  as  a  center,  an  object  everywhere  deemed  desirable. 


SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  21 

2.  Secondary  Schools 

The  statutes  of  this  state  have  had  provisions  more  or  less  looking  toward 
secondary-school  instruction  since  1841,  a  law  being  passed  that  year  providing 
for  the  associating  together  of  two  or  more  contiguous  school  districts  to  form 
a  union  district  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  union  school,  to  be  kept  for 
the  benefit  of  the  older  children  of  such  districts.  In  1844  an  Act  was  passed, 
whereby  a  school  district  having  children  so  numerous  as  to  require  more  than 
one  teacher,  could  have  two  or  more  schools;  the  teacher  of  the  high  or  central 
school  could  be  directed  to  teach  any  of  the  sciences  or  higher  branches  of  a 
thorough  education.  In  1867  an  Act  was  passed,  authorizing  a  town  to  establish 
and  maintain  one  or  more  central  schools  for  the  education  of  advanced  pupils 
of  the  town.  In  1878  the  Act  of  1867  was  so  amended  as  to  read  "one  or 
more  high  or  central  schools."  Thereafter,  amendments  were  made  by  the  legisla- 
ture, from  time  to  time,  looking  more  and  more  to  secondary  school  opportunities. 
In  1904  the  legislature  defined  a  high  school  as  being  one  maintained  for  thirty- 
three  or  more  weeks  in  each  year,  taught  by  a  teacher  or  teachers  of  competent 
ability,  etc.,  having  an  established  course  or  courses  of  study  for  four  years,  following 
a  nine-years'  elementary  course,  and  providing  instruction  in  subjects  "such  as  the 
English  language,  literature,  higher  mathematics,  history,  the  natural,  political, 
social,  moral,  and  industrial  sciences,  ancient  and  modern  languages,  art,  music, 
and  physical  culture."  And  by  the  Public  Statutes  (1906),  section  1016,  high 
schools  were  classified  as  follows:  "first  class,  a  school  of  a  four-years  course  or 
courses;  second  class,  a  school  of  a  three-years  course  or  courses;  third  class,  a 
school  of  a  two-years  course  or  courses;  fourth  class,  a  school  of  a  one-year  course 
or  courses."  The  course  or  courses  in  any  one  of  the  four  classes  to  begin  immedi- 
ately at  the  completion  of  an  elementary  course  of  nine  years. 

Under  the  provisions  of  section  1021,  of  the  Public  Statutes,  as  amended  by 
section  19  of  No.  62,  Acts  of  1912,  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  board  of  education  to 
determine  the  classification  and  standard  of  high  schools,  and  by  section  20,  of 
that  Act,  section  1016  of  the  Public  Statutes  was  so  amended  as  to  exclude  there- 
from all  statutory  classification,  and  to  make  the  course  of  instruction  in  the  high 
schools  to  begin  immediately  at  the  completion  of  the  elementary  course  of  not  less 
than  eight  years.  Acting  under  this  Act  of  1912,  the  board  of  education,  deeming 
it  wise  to  continue  a  similar  classification  of  high  schools  as  had  previously  existed, 
pending  the  report  of  this  Commission,  passed  a  resolution  to  that  effect. 

Section  1017,  of  the  Public  Statutes  reads:  "A  town  shall  maintain  a  high 
school  or  furnish  higher  instruction  for  its  advanced  pupils  as  follows:  the  board 
of  school  directors  shall,  at  an  expense  not  to  exceed  eight  dollars  a  term  or 
twenty-four  dollars  a  year  for  each  pupil,  unless  the  board  of  school  directors 
is  authorized  by  vote  of  the  town  to  pay  a  higher  tuition,  provide  and  arrange 
for  the  instruction  of  advanced  pupils  in  a  high  school  of  an  incorporated  dis- 


22  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

trict  or  an  academy  within  the  town,  or  in  the  high  schools  or  academies  of 
other  towns  within  or  without  the  state.  If  a  town  does  not  maintain  a  high 
school  of  the  first  class,  the  board  of  school  directors  shall  provide  and  arrange  for 
the  instruction  of  the  advanced  pupils  of  the  town,  for  the  remaining  years,  neces- 
sary to  complete  the  course  or  courses  of  study  in  a  high  school  of  the  first  class, 
in  a  high  school  of  an  incorporated  district  or  academy  within  the  town,  or  in  the 
high  schools  or  academies  of  other  towns  within  or  without  the  state."  It  is  further 
provided  by  statute  that  no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  such  instruction  by  reason 
of  age. 

That  secondary  schools  have  been  steadily  growing  in  public  favor  in  this  state, 
is  evident  from  the  foregoing  course  of  legislative  action;  and  that  their  importance 
is  recognized  as  second  only  to  that  of  the  elementary  schools  is  manifest  from  the 
mandatory  provision  that  every  town  shall  maintain  such  a  school,  or  furnish 
higher  instruction  for  its  advanced  pupils  elsewhere. 

Yet  in  this  respect  Vermont  is  but  keeping  abreast  of  the  present  state  of  educa- 
tional facilities  largely  afforded  in  other  states  in  this  Union.  We  call  attention  to 
the  1912  report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and  quote  from 
Volume  II,  page  181: 

"The  progress  in  secondary  education  continues  with  increasing  rapidity.  The 
report  for  1911-12  shows  1,075  more  high  schools  and  131,501  more  high-school 
students  than  the  report  for  the  previous  year.  The  increase  in  the  number  of 
high  schools  for  the  year  is  only  a  little  less  than  9  per  cent;  the  increase  in  the 
number  of  high-school  students  is  more  than  12  per  cent.  The  increase  in  high- 
school  students  for  the  year  is  nearly  50  per  cent  more  than  the  average  increase 
for  four  years  previous  and  more  than  four  times  as  great  as  the  average  increase 
of  the  preceding  twenty  years.  The  proportion  of  high-school  students  to  the 
scholastic  population  was  about  three  times  as  great  as  in  1890.  It  is  estimated 
that  about  23  per  cent  of  the  children  of  this  generation  in  the  United  States  re- 
ceive some  education  in  the  high  schools;"  and  in  his  report  for  1912-13,  Volume 
I,  page  67,  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  shows  that  this  growth 
continues  without  interruption. 

In  the  study  of  this  part  of  the  state's  educational  system  and  conditions,  it  is 
essential  to  notice  the  twofold  functional  purpose  of  secondary  schools:  (1)  To 
finish  the  schooling  of  one  part  of  the  state's  youth;  (2)  To  prepare  the  other  part 
for  higher  schooling.  Each  part  is  entitled  to  a  reasonable  opportunity  to  acquire 
an  education  according  to  its  needs.  By  constantly  bearing  in  mind  this  twofold 
function  to  be  fulfilled,  we  believe  that  a  correct  solution  of  the  problems  may  be 
reached  on  basic  principles. 

Ideally,  the  state  has  an  equal  educational  duty  toward  both  of  these  two  classes 
of  its  school  youth.  In  theory  this  duty  is  absolute;  in  practice  it  must,  for  the 
present  at  least,  remain  relative.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  understood  that  but  a 
small  number  of  the  pupils  contemplate  a  college  course,  and  the  requirements 


SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  23 

for  entrance  thereupon  are  known.  As  to  such  pupils,  the  aim  of  the  high  school 
is  to  qualify  them  to  meet  such  requirements.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  known 
that  in  all  probability  a  large  number  of  the  pupils  will  end  their  school-work 
in  the  high  school,  and  as  to  them  the  aim  of  the  school  should  not  be  circum- 
scribed by  any  fixed  standard  short  of  turning  out  each  pupil  at  the  end  of  his  course 
as  a  finished  product,  fitted  as  far  as  may  be  to  grapple  with  the  problems  of  life. 
The  facts  that  less  then  ten  per  cent  of  its  secondary  pupils  go  to  college  and  that 
of  those  graduating  from  the  high  schools  in  1912  only  17.1  per  cent  went  forward 
to  institutions  of  higher  learning,  make  it  clear  that  in  the  performance  of  this 
duty  stress  should  and  must  be  given  to  the  education  of  those  boys  and  girls  who 
leave  the  secondary  school  to  take  up  their  life  work. 

As  the  work  of  the  higher  elementary  grades  has  been  largely  molded  to  fit  the 
requirements  of  the  secondary  schools,  these,  in  turn,  have  been  fostered  and  domi- 
nated too  much  by  the  requirements  of  our  colleges.  This  appears  from  the  mani- 
fest disposition  so  far  to  disregard  the  real  needs  of  the  many  pupils  not  intending 
a  college  education,  as  to  allow  their  instruction  to  be  influenced  largely  by  the 
fixed  types  of  training  suited  only  to  the  small  fraction  having  a  higher  education  in 
view.  It  is  not,  however,  that  the  colleges  have  actively  dominated  the  secondary 
schools;  rather  the  secondary  schools  have  failed  to  discriminate  properly  between 
the  two  classes  in  arranging  curricula  suitable  to  their  respective  needs,  and  there- 
by the  many  pupils  have  been  made  to  suffer  for  the  particular  benefit  of  less  than 
one-tenth  of  the  entire  number.  This  shows  great  inefficiency  on  the  part  of 
those  who  are  responsible  for  it,  and  so  long  as  such  inefficiency  continues  unsatis- 
factory and  unjust  results  must  follow.  That  secondary  education  may  properly 
perform  its  dual  function  of  securing  to  nine-tenths  of  its  pupils  a  preparation  for 
life  in  the  factory,  in  the  office,  in  the  home,  or  on  the  farm,  without  sacrificing 
the  proportionate  right  of  the  remaining  one-tenth  to  a  preparation  for  the  further 
pursuit  of  schooling  in  college,  we  believe  some  change  is  necessary.  "In  con- 
formity with  this  idea,"  well  say  the  educational  investigators  (Report  of  Carnegie 
Foundation,  page  97),  "it  is  clear  that  the  secondary  school  should  be  organized 
so  as  to  deal  with  every  normal  child ;  that  it  should  provide  widely  varied 
opportunities  for  determining  the  central  tendency  of  a  child's  abilities  and  dis- 
position; that  its  courses  should  include,  not  incidentally  but  treated  with  inten- 
sive thoroughness,  those  fields  in  which  the  youth  of  the  community  are  likely 
to  find  their  permanent  careers;  and  finally  that  in  the  arrangement  of  curriculum 
and  program,  in  the  ordering  of  general  school  activities,  in  the  training  and  spirit 
of  the  teaching  staff,  the  central  purpose  should  be  to  establish  the  child  in  the 
noblest  mental  and  spiritual  relations  with  life." 

The  small  per  cent  of  youth  of  secondary-school  age,  who  now  actually  receive 
secondary-school  instruction,  is  a  matter  of  grave  public  concern,  and  some  prac- 
tical method  should  be  devised,  if  possible,  whereby  it  may  be  increased  to  a  very 
considerable  extent.     It  may  be  that  the  conditions  in  this  respect  will  improve 


24  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

as  time  goes  on,  even  should  the  point  of  division  between  the  elementary  school 
and  the  secondary  school  remain  where  it  now  is.  But  the  degree  of  improvement 
that  can  reasonably  be  expected  without  some  material  change  in  the  point  of  divi- 
sion, naturally  tending  in  the  right  direction,  is  too  small  to  be  satisfactorily  en- 
couraging. 

The  remedy  recommended  by  the  Carnegie  Foundation  is  to  put  the  point  of 
division  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  year,  and  place  six  years  in  the  high  school.  This 
means  a  six-year  elementary  course,  followed  by  a  six-year  high-school  course, 
divided,  as  will  be  seen  later,  into  two  parts.  Such  a  classification  constitutes 
what  is  known  in  educational  circles  as  the  "six-and-six"  plan  of  organization. 
This  plan  has  so  much  in  its  favor  and  so  little  against  it,  that  in  the  judgment  of 
the  Commission,  it  should  be  adopted.  In  its  practical  operation,  the  pupils  may 
be  expected  to  complete  the  elementary  course,  ready  to  enter  the  high  school  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years — the  time  of  change  in  the  lives  of  youth  when  entering 
the  adolescent  period.  School  age  has  yet  six  years  to  run,  of  which  years  four 
are  within  the  period  of  compulsory  attendance,  as  now  fixed  by  statute.  The 
completion  of  elementary  work  thus  regulated  is  at  a  time  in  the  lives  of  the  chil- 
dren, when,  all  things  considered,  they  are  in  the  best  condition  physically  and 
temperamentally,  and  educationally,  to  enter  upon  a  course  of  high-school  work, 
and  at  a  time  when  they  are  likely  to  be  most  inclined  to  do  so.  In  this  connection 
the  position  of  the  parents  toward  their  children  must  not  be  overlooked.  Fathers 
and  mothers  are  rare  and  not  within  the  common  governing  instincts  of  humanity, 
who  are  not  interested  in  the  well-being  of  their  sons  and  daughters,  and  who  do 
not  take  pride  in  watching  their  development,  mentally  as  well  as  physically,  in 
the  right  direction;  and  probably  there  is  no  time  when  such  parental  characteris- 
tic is  more  potent  as  an  actuating  force  than  when  the  child  is  passing  into  the 
years  of  adolescence.  At  that  time,  then,  the  parents  are  most  likely  to  influence 
the  child  to  active  progress  looking  to  a  course  of  advanced  instruction  in  the  high 
school.  Let  such  a  course  be  once  commenced,  and  no  argument  is  needed  to  con- 
vince a  person  of  fair  mind  that  the  pupil  is  more  likely  to  complete  the  full  four- 
year  course,  than  he  would  be  to  take  advanced  instruction  in  the  high  school 
after  an  elementary  course  extending  over  the  length  of  time  now  required,  eight 
years. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  present  classification  of  the  high  schools  is  by  force  of 
a  resolution  adopted  by  the  board  of  education  for  temporary  purposes,  pending  the 
action  of  this  Commission.  A  classification  is  necessary,  but  to  be  effective  as  a 
part  of  the  solution  of  the  problem  it  must  be  based  upon  some  difference  having 
a  just  relation  to  the  end  to  be  attained.  Without  such  a  basis  any  classification 
that  can  be  made  is  more  likely  to  lead  to  complexity  than  to  simplicity  in  the 
operation  of  the  system. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  under  the  "six-and-six"  plan  of  organization,  a 
much  larger  per  cent  of  the  youth  completing  the  elementary-school  course  than 


SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  25 

now  will  seek  a  higher  instruction  in  the  secondary  schools;  and  there  is  no  percep- 
tible reason  why  the  per  cent  remaining  there  throughout  a  four-year  course  may 
be  materially  less,  except  as  affected  by  causes  beyond  control.  Speaking  generally, 
the  four-year  course  or  courses  in  all  the  high  schools  of  the  state  would  probably 
be  the  same,  varying  only  so  far  as  necessary  to  meet  the  conditions,  and  it  is 
highly  probable  that  of  those  completing  such  a  course  but  a  comparatively  small 
per  cent  would  continue  through  a  six-year  course,  either  to  fit  for  college,  or  to 
enlarge  and  broaden  their  secondary-school  education.  Yet  for  the  benefit  of  the 
small  per  cent  who  may  desire  a  full  six-year  course,  an  adequate  and  reasonably 
convenient  opportunity  to  that  end  should  be  afforded.  In  view  of  the  compara- 
tively small  number  of  youth  who  are  likely  to  desire  such  a  course,  the  number 
of  high  schools  in  which  the  usual  course  or  courses  of  four  years  need  to  be  sup- 
plemented by  two  additional  years,  may  be  much  less  than  the  number  of  high 
schools  of  the  other  class  and  still  afford  reasonably  convenient  accommodations 
to  those  desiring  to  attend.  Here  then  is  a  reasonable  basis  for  the  classification 
of  the  high  schools  into  what  may  be  called  junior  high  schools,  having  a  four-year 
course  or  courses,  and  senior  high  schools,  having  a  six-year  course  or  courses. 
Consequently  in  the  judgment  of  the  Commission,  such  a  classification  should  be 
had  to  insure  more  efficient  operation  of  the  primary  elements  entering  into  the 
educational  system  of  the  state. 

The  national  bureau  of  education  reports  that  in  1905  the  department  of  secon- 
dary education  of  the  National  Education  Association  appointed  a  committee  on 
six-year  courses;  that  the  reports  received  and  adopted  in  1907,  1908,  and  1909, 
indicated  that  the  sentiment  for  the  "six-and-six"  division  was  growing;  that  since 
the  adoption  of  the  1909  report  there  is  every  evidence  of  a  rapidly  growing  ten- 
dency toward  a  shorter  elementary  course  and  a  high  school  course  of  six  years 
divided  into  two  parts.  The  report  further  says:  "Under  the  'six-and-six'  plan  a 
few  of  the  present  high-school  subjects,  such  as  the  languages,  algebra  and  elemen- 
tary science,  are  brought  down  into  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades.  It  is  pointed 
out  that  this  arrangement  will  permit  a  pupil  in  the  junior  high  school  to  prepare  for 
any  of  the  courses  offered  in  the  senior  school,  thus  bridging  the  gap  now  existing 
between  the  eighth  and  the  ninth  grades.  A  pupil  who  in  all  probability  will  never 
go  to  college,  would  be  given  subjects  leading  to  some  vocational  course  in  the  senior 
high  school,  while  the  pupil  who  intends  to  enter  college,  would  be  given  in  the 
junior  high  school  subjects  preparing  him  for  any  one  of  the  college  preparatory 
courses  in  the  senior  school.  A  pupil  would  thus  continue  a  subject  long  enough  for 
it  to  be  of  some  educational  value.  Algebra  could  be  completed  a  year  earlier, 
and  the  foundation  for  the  study  of  physics  and  chemistry  could  be  firmly  laid. 
The  claim  is  therefore  made  that  the  American  boy  would,  under  the  *six-and-six* 
plan,  gain  a  year  of  two  over  the  present  arrangement." 

"The  conclusion  of  this  committee,"  says  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education  (Report  1912-1913,  Volume  I,  page  5,)  "that  at  least  two  yeasr  can 


26  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

be  saved  in  the  time  now  given  to  elementary  instruction,  is  significant,  not  be- 
cause educators  did  not  know  it  before,  but  because,  coming  from  a  conservative 
source,  it  represents  the  mature  judgment  of  those  actually  engaged  in  teaching; 
a  judgment,  furthermore,  reached  only  after  the  most  painstaking  consideration 
of  all  the  circumstances,  and  confirmed  by  independent  observers  of  conditions  in 
other  countries." 

At  a  very  recent  meeting  of  the  Inland  Empire  Teachers'  Association  (which 
enrolls  about  2,000  teachers  from  the  states  of  Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho,  and 
Montana,)  a  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  favoring  the  "six-and-six"  plan 
of  school  organization.  At  that  meeting  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation, speaking  with  emphatic  approval  of  this  plan,  said  in  part  as  follows: — 

"I  know  of  no  valid  reason  for  the  present  plan  of  eight  and  four  years  of  school. 
There  should  be  six  years  of  elementary  school  and  six  years  of  high  school,  the 
high  school  period  being  divided  into  two  sections  of  three  years  each. 

"There  are  many  reasons  for  the  change.  Children  12  and  13  years  old  are 
at  the  beginning  of  the  transition  period  between  childhood  and  youth — they  should 
not  be  kept  doing  elementary  work.  At  present  the  pupils  in  most  school  systems 
mark  time  to  a  large  extent  through  the  7th  and  8th  grades.  This  is  especially 
true  where  the  methods  of  the  elementary  schools  are  carried  through  these  and 
the  children  are  taught  by  women  grade  teachers.  With  a  six-year  elementary 
school  it  would  be  easily  possible  to  promote  the  teachers  with  the  children  from 
grade  to  grade,  thus  gaining  the  large  value  that  comes  from  teachers  and  children 
remaining  together  until  the  teacher  knows  the  needs  of  the  children,  their  strength, 
and  their  weakness,  and  can  build  intelligently  on  all  the  work  of  previous 
years. 

"Furthermore,  to  begin  the  high  school  with  the  seventh  grade  will  make  much 
easier  the  departmental  work,  which  should  begin  at  least  this  low  down.  It  will  also 
make  it  much  easier  to  begin  work  in  such  high  school  subjects  as  foreign  languages, 
constructive  geometry,  and  real  literature,  at  this  point  where  they  should  be 
begun.  The  study  of  languages,  especially  of  modern  languages,  should  be  begun 
in  a  practical  way  before  children  have  passed  the  time  when  they  can  learn  in 
this  way.  This  plan  will  also  make  it  possible  to  introduce  manual  training, 
domestic  science,  and  various  forms  of  vocational  work  two  years  earlier  than  they 
are  now  begun. 

"Our  secondary  school  work  is  now  at  a  great  disadvantage  as  compared  with 
the  work  done  in  the  Gynasien  and  Realschulen  in  Germany,  the  Lycees  of  France, 
and  the  so-called  public  schools  of  England.  By  giving  six  years  to  the  high 
school,  the  boys  and  girls  who  go  to  college  may  easily  have,  on  admission  to  college, 
a  much  larger  amount  of  mathematics,  languages,  and  other  subjects  than  they 
now  have.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  by  an  arrangement  of  this  kind  and  a  little  more 
care  in  the  preparation  and  selection  of  teachers  you  may  gain  for  most  children 
two  vears  in  the  twelve. 


SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  27 

"The  division  of  the  high  school  into  two  sections  of  three  years  each  will  make 
easier  a  second  differentiation  of  work  at  the  end  of  the  first  three  high-school  years. 

"At  present  only  about  one-fourth  of  the  children  enter  the  high  school.  The 
compulsory  school  age  in  most  states  corresponds  quite  closely  with  the  elementary 
school  period.  Parents  and  children  are  thereby  confirmed  in  the  idea  that  the 
elementary  education  is  all  that  is  needed.  Besides,  the  break  between  the  elemen- 
tary school  and  the  high  school  at  this  time  suggests  leaving  school  and  makes  it 
easier.  If  the  break  came  at  12  or  13  the  great  majority  of  children  would  be  in  the 
high  school,  doing  high  school  work  under  high  school  conditions,  and  probably 
a  much  larger  proportion  of  them  would  continue  in  school  than  under  present 
conditions." 

It  is  seen  that  Dr.  Claxton  favors  the  division  of  the  high  schools  under  the 
six-and-six  plan  of  organization,  into  three  and  three  years,  and  such  a  division 
seems  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  growing  tendency.  Yet  in  the  belief  of  the 
Commission  there  are  good  and  sufficient  reasons  why  the  3-3  division  is  less  for 
the  interest  of  the  State  of  Vermont  than  the  4-2  division,  here  recommended: 
first,  the  3-3  division  would  add  but  one  year  in  the  junior  high  school  to  the  time 
now  required  in  the  elementary  school,  while  with  the  4-2  division,  it  seems  highly 
probable  that  no  less  number  of  pupils  would  enter  the  junior  high  school,  and  that 
most  of  those  entering  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  remain  throughout  a  four- 
year  course;  and  secondly,  (the  reason  given  in  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Founda- 
tion, page  105),  that  "giving  a  junior  school  of  four  years  and  an  additional  cen- 
tral school  course  of  two  years,  instead  of  devoting  three  years  to  each,  *  *  * 
postpones  home-leaving  to  the  latest  possible  point, —  a  consideration  of  much 
importance  where  many  are  involved.  This  would  not  usually  take  place  then 
before  the  age  of  seventeen,— an  age  of  reasonable  discretion,  when  supervision 
such  as  a  high  school  staff  could  exercise  would  be  effective." 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  stated  that  the  age  of  compulsory  attendance 
in  this  state  is  "between  the  ages  of  eight  and  sixteen  years"  unless  the  child  is 
mentally  or  physically  unable  so  to  attend,  "or  has  already  acquired  the  branches 
required  to  be  taught  in  the  elementary  schools,  or  is  otherwise  being  furnished 
with  the  same  education,  or  is  legally  excused  from  attending  school." 

Should  the  schools  be  reorganized  in  accordance  with  the  "six-and-six"  plan, 
this  law  regarding  compulsory  attendance  (section  1029  of  the  Public  Statutes, 
as  amended  by  section  1  of  No,  75,  Acts  of  1912),  should  be  amended  by  striking 
out  the  words,  "or  has  already  acquired  the  branches  required  to  be  taught  in  the 
elementary  schools;"  for  with  these  words  remaining  in  that  section,  it  would  in 
effect  reduce  compulsory  school  age  by  two  years.  This  should  not  be.  The 
compulsory  attendance  should  continue  into  and  through  the  usual  age  of  pupils 
taking  junior  high-school  courses. 

There  are  now  in  this  state  seventy-five  public  high  schools.  Averaged,  this 
gives  one  high  school  to  about  three  and  one-fifth  towns  and  cities.     These  schools 


28  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

are  all  closely  similar  in  type,  organized  in  about  the  same  fashion,  based  upon  the 
same  fundamental  traditions,  and  in  general,  having  the  same  aims.  "The  curri- 
culum in  each,"  says  the  Carnegie  Report,  page  67,  "consists  of  the  traditional 
college  preparatory  course,  or  its  close  derivative,  more  or  less  enriched  with  semi- 
vocational  opportunities  in  commercial  subjects,  domestic  science,  manual  training, 
or  agriculture.  The  method  and  the  spirit  of  instruction,  however  vastly  they 
may  differ  in  their  essential  quality  in  different  schools,  are  yet  remarkably  uniform 
in  kind  and  reveal  the  same  general  source."  The  report  (page  65)  shows  that  in 
1912,  about  5,722  of  the  25,000  children  from  15  to  18  years  in  this  state,  actually 
received  secondary  instruction  in  schools  organized  for  that  purpose.  If  a  reorgani- 
zation of  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools  be  had,  according  to  the  recom- 
mendations contained  in  this  report,  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  more  high  schools 
of  the  junior  class,  properly  distributed  in  location,  w^ill  be  needed  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  larger  number  of  pupils  seeking  instruction  therein. 

In  some  towns  where  approved  academies  are  located  and  in  operation,  no  high 
school  has  been  established.  Instead  thereof  the  several  towns  have  arranged 
yearly  with  the  academy  in  town  for  secondary  schooling  at  that  institution  at 
public  expense.  Such  arrangements  seem  to  be  working  well.  To  all  intents  and 
purposes,  the  academy  is  the  public  high  school  of  the  town.  Arrangements  of 
this  kind,  however,  should  be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  board  of  education. 

Except  where  the  academy  in  tow  n  is  thus  made  to  answer  the  purposes  of  a  high 
school,  there  should  be  a  junior  high  school  in  every  town  in  the  state  where  the 
youth  to  attend  are  sufficient  in  number  to  warrant  it.  But  if  the  number  of  such 
youth  is  too  small  to  warrant  the  establishment  of  a  high  school,  then  arrange- 
ments should  be  made  by  the  town,  subject  to  the  approval  and  supervision  of  the 
board  of  education,  for  secondary  educational  advantages  to  its  youth,  outside  of 
the  town,  at  public  expense. 

In  the  junior  high  schools,  pupils,  whether  contemplating  a  collegiate  education 
or  otherwise,  should  find  a  four-year  course  suited  to  their  needs,  and  if  in  addition 
thereto  a  further  two-year  course  be  desired  (as  would  be  the  case  if  preparing  for 
college),  it  should  be  found  in  the  senior  high  school,  in  each  to  be  given  by  com- 
petent teachers.  In  these,  the  junior  high  schools,  supplemented  by  the  senior 
high  schools,  pupils  contemplating  a  collegiate  education  should  be  furnished  with 
convenient  instruction  suitable  to  the  preparatory  course  required.  Pupils,  too, 
who  desire  a  general  six -year  course  with  opportunities  for  semi-vocational  training 
in  commercial  subjects,  domestic  science,  manual  training,  or  agriculture,  should 
in  like  manner  be  afforded  instruction  suitable  to  the  end  sought.  And  pupils 
desiring  a  four-year  course  with  lesser  opportunities  for  the  semi-vocational  training 
such  as  is  above  described,  should  be  afforded  convenient  instruction  in  the  junior 
high  schools. 

Under  the  present  law  not  all  high  schools  are  schools  of  the  first  class,  and  it  is 
only  in  schools  of  the  first  class  that  a  four-year  course,  fitting  for  college  or  other- 


SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  29 

wise,  can  be  had.  Where  the  high  schools  are  of  the  second,  third,  or  fourth  class, 
pupils  taking  a  course  therein  must  complete  their  course  of  study  (if  more  be  had) 
in  some  academy,  or  in  some  high  school  of  the  first  class  elsewhere.  Provision 
is  made  therefor  in  section  1017  of  the  Pubhc  Statutes,  quoted  above.  By  the  law 
of  that  section,  if  a  town  does  not  maintain  a  high  school  of  the  first  class,  the 
board  of  school  directors  shall  provide  and  arrange  for  the  instruction  of  the  ad- 
vanced pupils  of  the  town,  for  the  remaining  years  necessary  to  complete  the 
course  or  courses  of  study  in  a  high  school  of  the  first  class,  in  a  high  school  of  an 
incorporated  district  or  academy  of  the  town  if  there  be  such,  or  in  the  high  schools 
or  academies  outside  the  town,  and  even  outside  the  state.  This  law  will  work 
not  less  justly  to  pupils  under  the  proposed  reorganization. 

Believing  a  reorganization  of  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools  according 
to  the  "six-and-six"  plan,  to  be  for  the  best  educational  interests  of  the  state,  the 
Commission  recommends:  (a)  That  there  should  be  a  junior  high  school  maintained 
in  every  town  in  the  state  (unless  by  arrangement  an  academy  in  town  is  in  effect 
the  high  school  of  the  town)  where  the  number  of  secondary-school  youth  to  be 
conveniently  accommodated  shall  reasonably  warrant  it,  having  (in  the  language 
of  the  Carnegie  Foundation's  report,  page  109),  "a  four-year  curriculum,  elastic 
in  administration,  but  limited  in  scope  by  the  numbers  and  needs  of  the  local  boys 
and  girls,  12  to  16  years  of  age,  covering  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  of  the  present 
elementary  school  and  the  first  two  years  of  the  present  high  school,"  with  equip- 
ment appropriate  to  the  curriculum  presented;  (6)  That  there  should  be  as  many 
central  and  readily  accessible  senior  high  schools,  articulating  directly  with  all 
neighboring  junior  high  schools,  as  the  number  of  pupils  desiring  the  advanced 
instruction  given  only  in  this  class  of  schools,  shall  reasonably  demand,  the  number 
and  locations  to  be  determined  by  the  board  of  education.  These  should  have: 
(a)  A  four-year  junior  curriculum  as  in  the  junior  high  schools,  "but  including 
special  vocational  opportunities,  particularly  in  agriculture,  for  pupils  from  12  to 
16  years  of  age;"  (b)  A  curriculum  appropriate  to  the  youth  of  17  to  19  years  of 
age,  drawn  from  the  surrounding  districts,  who  are  fitting  for  college,  or  are  com- 
pleting a  course  of  general  education.  This  class  of  schools  should  have  adequate 
equipment  for  all  purposes  within  the  curricula. 

Yet  with  secondary  schools  so  classified  and  under  the  best  of  regulations,  effi- 
cient results  cannot  be  realized  unless  the  teachers  are  specially  qualified  for  the 
work  they  are  called  to  perform. 

It  may  be  said  that  under  such  a  reorganization  as  is  here  recommended,  the 
public  schools  of  the  state  will  be  more  expensive  than  at  present.  Undoubtedly 
this  is  so  to  some  extent,  more  particularly  consequent  on  the  increased  number  of 
high  schools,  the  quality  of  teachers,  the  larger  salary  demanded  by  them,  and  the 
better  supervision.  Yet  to  allow  this  as  a  controlling  element  against  such  reorgan- 
ization is  to  place  the  expense  of  schools  as  the  controlling  factor,  and  the  quality 
of  schools,  the  educational  advantages  of  the  children,  and  the  general  welfare  of 


30  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

the  state,  as  of  secondary  importance,  a  position  which,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Commission,  will  be  taken  by  so  few  people  imbued  with  the  true  spirit  of  the 
Yermonter,  and  looking  primarily  to  the  general  good  of  the  people,  as  to  be  almost 
negligible.     "That  regard  be  had  to  the  public  welfare,  is  the  highest  law." 

The  expense  of  public  schools  should,  however,  more  than  ever  before,  be  borne 
by  the  state  at  large,  rather  than  by  the  several  municipalities  in  which  the  schools 
are  located.  We  endorse  with  emphasis  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation, 
wherein  it  says  (page  144) : 

"It  is  essential,  however,  not  to  obscure  the  remaining  fact  that  the  state  needs 
yet  to  provide  both  for  a  greater  equalization  of  the  burden  of  school  support  among 
the  communities  of  the  state  and  for  a  further  enlargement  of  the  funds  to  be  used 
for  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  if  these  schools  are  to  be  conducted  on 
the  high  level  requisite  for  the  progressive  welfare  of  the  state.  The  urgencies  of 
the  educational  situation  revealed  in  the  portions  of  this  report  dealing  with  the 
rural  and  the  secondary  schools  are  such  that  additional  expenditures  on  the  part 
of  the  state  must  be  resolutely  faced.  It  is  not  a  question  of  how  much  Vermont 
is  expending  per  capita.  It  is  a  question  of  developing  a  school  system  equal  to 
the  needs  of  its  people." 

In  this  connection  let  us  remember  that  by  the  organic  law,  it  is  the  bounden  duty 
of  the  state  to  provide  for  its  youth  suitable  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  elemen- 
tary and  a  secondary  education.  This  being  so,  the  state  should  perform  this  duty 
before  it  gives  financial  aid  to  institutions  of  higher  learning,  not  a  part  of  its 
public  educational  system. 

It  may  also  be  said  that  such  a  reorganization  will  not  meet  with  the  approval 
of  towns  now  having  efficient  high  schools  of  the  first  class  (under  present  classifi- 
cation), on  the  ground  that  to  supersede  such  high  schools  by  junior  high  schools, 
thereby  obliging  pupils  in  order  to  complete  their  fitting  for  college  or  to  take 
advanced  studies  in  the  senior  high  schools,  to  leave  home  earlier  in  age  than  is  now 
necessary,  will  be  more  expensive  to  the  parents  of  such  pupils.  This  also  may 
be  true  and  not,  by  any  sound  course  of  reasoning,  militate  against  the  proposed 
new  organization.  It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  but  a  very  small  per  cent  of 
children  receive  instruction  beyond  the  elementary  schools.  Is  it  for  the  public 
good  that  this  condition  of  things  permanently  remain?  If  it  is,  then  the  principle 
"let  well  enough  alone"  should  be  applied.  But  if  it  is  not,  then  to  refuse  to  take 
a  step  which  in  all  probability  will,  to  a  very  large  degree,  remedy  that  evil,  simply 
because  a  small  per  cent  of  the  youth  will  be  discommoded  to  some  extent  in  taking 
advanced  courses  in  the  senior  high  schools,  is  to  say  that  the  very  few  thus  in- 
commoded are  of  more  consequence  than  the  ten  or  twenty  times  as  many  to  be 
materially  benefited  thereby,  a  principle  too  irrational  for  serious  consideration. 

The  educational  system  should  be  so  regulated  as  most  to  benefit  all  the  people 
of  the  state,  and  the  interest  of  the  few  should  give  way  to  that  of  the  many.  Let 
us  recur  to  fundamental  principles  already  noticed,  "That  government  is,  or  ought 


THE  SCHOOL  TERM  31 

to  be,  instituted  for  the  common  benefit,  protection,  and  security  of  the  people, 
nation,  or  community,  and  not  for  the  particular  emolument  or  advantage  of  any 
single  man,  family,  or  set  of  men,  who  are  a  part  only  of  that  community;  *  *  *" 
If  provision  be  made  by  statute  for  a  reorganization  substantially  in  accordance 
with  these  recommendations,  much  will  depend  upon  the  board  of  education  by 
itself  and  through  its  chief  executive  officer,  to  efi'ect  such  changes  as  may  be 
necessary  to  put  the  schools,  both  elementary  and  secondary,  into  workable  shape 
under  the  new  regulations,  and  ample  time  should  willingly  be  allowed  therefor. 
It  cannot  be  accomplished  in  a  monemt,  and  time  commensurate  with  the  work 
necessary  to  be  done  to  bring  about  the  change  in  an  efficient  manner,  should  be 
granted.  In  the  meantime,  the  board  of  education  should  have  discretionary 
powers  broad  enough  to  enable  it  to  meet  conditions  peculiar  to  any  particular 
town  or  locality  in  a  manner  most  conducive  to  the  educational  advantage  of  the 
town  or  locality,  and  at  the  same  time  looking  toward  the  operation  of  the  new 
regulations  as  soon  as  shall  be  reasonably  warrantable. 


3.  The  School  Term 

The  school  term  in  this  state  must  by  statute  be  at  least  30  weeks.  In  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Commission  this  is  too  short  for  the  best  results  in  a  school  age.  It 
is  true  that  the  length  of  the  school  term  varies  in  different  states,  some  longer 
and  some  shorter  than  that  of  Vermont.  It  is  said,  however,  by  the  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education  in  his  report  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1912,  (page 
xix,)  that  "surely  an  annual  school  term  of  180  days,  and  an  average  attendance  of 
90  per  cent  of  this  time  by  all  the  children  between  the  ages  of  6  to  16,  a  total  of  1620 
days,  can  not  be  considered  more  than  is  necessary  to  prepare  children  for  life  and 
citizenship;"  and  he  shows  by  tables  the  average  length  of  school  term  in  days  of 
each  of  the  several  states  in  1910-11,  and  the  number  of  days  that  must  be  added 
to  make  an  average  term  of  180  days,  and  the  average  number  of  days  of  schooling 
each  child  will  get  in  the  several  states  on  the  basis  of  attendance  for  1910-11, 
and  the  number  of  days  of  increase  necessary  to  give  an  average  of  1620  days,  or 
an  average  attendance  of  90  per  cent  of  180  days  each  year  by  each  child  between  the 
ages  of  6  and  16.  Regarding  the  states  of  New  England  and  the  state  of  New  York 
the  tables  show  that  the  school  term  in  Maine  is  163.8  days,  in  New  Hampshire, 
168.5  days,  in  Massachusetts,  185  days,  in  Connecticut,  184.9  days,  in  Rhode 
Island,  194  days,  in  New  York,  186.9  days,  in  Vermont,  160  days.  This  makes 
Vermont's  school  term  20  days  less  than  180,  the  school  term  mentioned  by  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Education.  It  also  gives  Vermont  1338  days  as 
the  total  days  of  schooling  for  each  child  between  the  ages  named,  it  being  282 
days  less  than  the  total  of  1620  days  given  if  the  school  term  is  180  days  as  there 
recommended. 


32  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS 

This  is  of  great  consequence  to  the  state  and  especially  to  the  children  whose 
school  education  ends  with  the  public  schools.  To  lose  two  hundred  eighty-two 
days  of  schooling  is  to  lose  the  equivalent  of  nearly  two  years  under  present  regu- 
lations, a  loss  which  such  children  should  not  be  obliged  to  suffer.  The  additional 
expense  consequent  on  an  increase  of  the  length  of  the  school  term  would  be  incon- 
siderable when  compared  with  the  benefits  received.  The  Commission  recommends 
that  the  length  of  the  school  term  be  increased  to  not  less  than  thirty-six  weeks. 


IV 
SPECIALLY  INCORPORATED  DISTRICTS 

There  are  in  the  state  thirty  specially  incorporated  school  districts,  which  in 
some  instances  include  the  whole  town.  Very  likely  the  reason  for  being  so  incor- 
porated was  to  get  enlarged  powers,  or  to  secure  the  benefit  of  some  fund  or  funds 
deemed  not  otherwise  available.  In  the  judgment  of  the  Commission,  the  public 
schools  of  the  state  should  be  operated  under  general  laws  common  to  all  parts  of, 
and  localities  in,  the  state.  By  such  laws  no  town,  or  district,  should  have  special 
educational  rights  or  privileges.  In  the  proposed  reorganization  the  general  law 
should  be  made  broad  enough,  if  not  so  already,  to  give  all  such  rights  and  privileges 
as  are  necessary  to  the  effective  operation  of  the  educational  policies  of  the  state, 
and  at  the  same  time  it  should  be  suflScient  to  enable  any  school  district  to  have 
the  benefit  of  property  now  possessed  by  gift,  bequest,  or  otherwise,  from  private 
sources. 

The  Commission  therefore  recommends  that  the  charters  of  all  specially  incor- 
porated school  districts  in  the  state  be  repealed,  saving  to  the  districts,  however, 
by  general  statutory  provisions,  the  same  benefit  of  property  now  had  by  them 
respectively,  by  gift,  bequest,  or  otherwise,  from  private  sources. 


V 
COUNTY  GRAMMAR  SCHOOLS  AND  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  LANDS 

Mention  is  made,  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  report,  of  the  county  grammar  schools 
incorporated  as  private  institutions  in  nearly  every  county  in  the  state,  largely 
within  a  third  of  a  century  after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1786,  to  some 
or  all  of  which  several  corporations  the  General  Assembly  granted  the  lands  situa- 
ted in  the  same  county,  reserved  in  town  charters  to  the  use  of  county  grammar 
schools.  Though  this  Commission  does  not  deem  matters  relating  particularly 
to  these  county  grammar  schools  and  the  lands  granted  to  them,  to  be  within  its 
province,  yet  it  ventures  to  call  attention  to  them.  The  Commission  under- 
stands that  most  if  not  all  of  these  county  grammar  schools  ceased  to  operate 
years  ago,  though  in  some  and  perhaps  in  most  instances  the  corporate  entity  still 
exists;  and  that  by  force  of  legislative  enactments  or  otherwise,  the  income  from 
the  grammar  school  lands  now  goes  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  other  educational 
institutions,  public  or  private.  The  Vermont  school  report  made  by  the  state 
superintendent  of  education  in  1888,  states  that  such  lands  in  the  state  aggregate 
23,853  acres,  appraised  at  $173,  557,  and  that  the  rent  received  therefrom  was  then 
$2,800.  Regarding  the  present  rent  and  the  use  made  of  it,  the  Commission  has 
no  adequate  information;  nor  has  the  Commission  sufiicient  information  upon 
which  to  base  any  opinion  concerning  the  reserved  power  of  the  General  Assembly, 
if  any  it  has,  to  act  in  relation  to  the  lands  or  the  rents  and  profits  derived  there- 
from. It  seems,  however,  that  these  lands  and  the  use  of  them  are  of  such  con- 
sequence to  the  state,  educationally,  as  to  justify  the  appointment  of  a  commission 
to  investigate  and  report  relative  thereto,  and  relative  to  the  county  grammar 
schools  to  which  the  lands  were  granted,  to  the  end  that  so  far  as  it  has  power, 
the  legislature  may  take  action,  looking  to  a  more  general  distribution  of  the  rents 
and  profits  to  the  public  schools  in  the  several  counties  in  the  state. 


VI 
VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

When  the  founders  of  this  state  provided  in  its  organic  law  that  schools  should 
be  maintained  "for  the  convenient  instruction  of  youth,"  although  they  had  no 
conception  of  public  vocational  training  as  now  developed,  they  laid  down  an 
educational  principle  good  for  all  time  by  the  requirements  of  which  vocational 
education  justifies  itself.  They  further  asserted  that  "every  freeman,  to  preserve 
his  independence  (if  without  a  sufficient  estate)  ought  to  have  some  profession^ 
calling,  trade,  or  farm,  whereby  he  may  honestly  subsist,"  thereby  recognizing 
in  a  substantial  form,  the  importance  of  vocational  training.  In  those  days  the 
boy  who  aimed  at  the  trades  became  an  apprentice  and  the  girl  received  in  her 
home  training  in  things  domestic.  With  the  great  change  in  social  and  economic 
conditions  that  has  since  come  about,  such  opportunities  for  vocational  training 
have  almost  entirely  disappeared,  leaving  an  educational  void,  in  which  our  youth 
have  aimlessly  floated  about  or  wasted  years  in  further  training  of  little  practical 
value.  As  already  seen,  convenient  instruction  is  that  affording  accommodation 
and  advantage,  and  we  believe  it  beyond  successful  contradiction  that,  under  the 
Constitution,  a  duty  to  bridge  this  educational  gap  for  the  accommodation  and 
advantage  of  its  youth,  rests  upon  the  state. 

Vocational  training,  although  no  longer  in  the  class  of  uncertain  experiments^ 
still  receives  little  encouragement  from  those  educators  to  whom  culture  and 
intellectuality  are  the  end  and  aim  of  schooling.  They  "make  a  fetish  of  learning 
at  the  expense  of  education."  This  truth  is  well  expressed  by  Prof.  G.  B.  Meade 
whose  statement  is  set  forth  in  the  latest  report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner 
of  Education  as  follows: 

"Our  schools  are  still  in  one  respect  medieval.  They  assume  more  or  less  con- 
sciously that  they  are  called  upon  to  indoctrinate  their  pupils,  and  that  the  doctrine 
which  they  have  to  instill — whether  it  be  that  of  language,  number,  history,  litera- 
ture, or  elementary  science — is  guaranteed  as  subject  matter  for  instruction  by  its 
own  truth,  its  traditional  position  in  the  school  curriculum,  and  finally  by  its 
relation  to  the  rest  of  the  ideas,  points  of  view,  artistic  products,  historic  monu- 
ments, which  together  make  up  what  we  call  our  culture." 

Culture  and  intellectuality  alone  cannot  do  the  world's  work.  The  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  in  Massachusetts  has  defined  vocational  education  as  "any 
education  whose  controlling  purpose  is  to  fit  for  a  recognized  occupation."  It  is 
far  better  that  the  great  mass  of  our  youth  should  be  trained  in  the  skillful  per- 
formance of  their  lifework  than  receive  a  fragmentary  intellectual  development 
of  httle  practical  value.  In  a  memorable  speech  on  vocational  education  deUvered 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  June  5, 1912,  the  speaker,  showing  much  thought 
and  research,  said: 

"...  The  curriculum  of  practically  all  our  schools  looks  forward  to  the  college 


36  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

as  the  ultimate  end  of  all  school  life.  Every  college-bred  man  regards  it  a  great 
misfortune  that  our  young  men  are  not  receiving  a  more  generous  cultural  training, 
and  so  do  I. 

"But,  Mr.  President,  these  men  forget  that  only  1.71  per  cent  of  our  boys  ever 
enter  the  college  or  university.  They  forget  that  only  an  additional  5.35  per  cent 
ever  enter  the  high  school.  They  forget  that  only  25  per  cent  of  the  balance  ever 
get  as  high  as  the  eighth  or  upper  grade  of  the  elementary  or  grammar  school. 
They  forget  that  less  than  50  per  cent  ever  complete  the  seventh  grade. 

"In  brief,  Mr.  President,  they  predicate  their  plans  for  the  school  life  of  the  boy 
upon  what  ought  to  be,  rather  than  what  is.  They  would  have  every  boy 
thoroughly  educated;  so  would  I;  but  since  this  cannot  be,  let  us  be  practical. 
Let  us  not  forget  that  much  as  we  would  have  it  otherwise,  the  school  life  of  the 
American  boy  must  of  necessity  be  so  changed  as  to  teach  him  how  to  get  a  living." 

The  foregoing  well  expresses  the  views  in  this  respect  of  the  Commission. 

It  has  been  said,  in  effect,  that  our  schools  should  concern  themselves  with 
the  cultural  and  intellectual  education  of  the  youth,  that  manufacturers  prefer 
to  train  their  own  employees,  that  agricultural  labor  should  be  left  to  some  lower 
order  of  workers  typified  by  "The  Man  with  the  Hoe,"  and  that  Vermont  should 
continue  to  send  her  brilliant  sons  beyond  her  borders  and  shine  by  their  reflected 
glory.  Such  a  policy  is  suicidal.  In  these  days  of  conservation  of  natural  resources, 
one  who  advocates  the  dissipation  of  the  state's  greatest  natural  resource,  the 
brain  and  brawn  of  her  own  children,  is  totally  out  of  touch  with  the  signs  of  the 
times.  Vermont's  unequalled  contribution  to  the  development  of  other  com- 
munities, by  the  emigration  for  more  than  a  century  of  many  of  her  best  intellects, 
is  and  always  will  be  a  source  of  just  pride.  Today,  however,  the  state  through 
modern  developments  in  manufacturing  and  agriculture,  is  face  to  face  with 
opportunities  nowhere  excelled.  She  is  no  longer  merely  the  "Old  Home"  state; 
she  is  the  "At  Home"  state.  Vermont's  chief  duty  today  is  so  to  train  her  youth 
that  they  may  seize  and  develop  these  crying  opportunities  for  their  own  certain 
private  benefit  as  well  as  for  her  advancement  as  a  soverign  state.  The  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Education  in  his  latest  report  well  says  that  "the  demand 
is  becoming  more  and  more  insistent  that  in  the  American  democracy,  a  common- 
wealth where,  in  theory  at  least,  to  be  a  producer  forms  the  first  claim  to  citizenship, 
productional  training  shall  be  given  to  all  children  in  the  light  of  their  aptitudes 
and  needs  and  in  the  light  of  the  requirements  of  society." 

For  the  performance  of  this  duty,  the  Commission  adopts  the  recommendations 
of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  (page  133),  as  follows: 

"A  wise  program  in  the  formation  of  vocational  schools  would  seem  to  be,  first,  the 
reform  of  the  public  school  system  so  that  the  youth  of  Vermont  may  be  educated 
toward  the  occupations  of  the  communities  in  which  they  live;  secondly,  the  estab- 
lishment at  each  of  the  proposed  regional  (senior)  high  schools,  in  its  four-year  junior 
division,  of  a  high  grade  vocational  course  in  agriculture  for  boys  from  12  to  1(> 


VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  37 

years  of  age,  and  in  its  senior  division  of  advanced  courses  for  older  pupils;  *  *  *  " 
It  will  be  noticed  that  agriculture  as  a  vocation  is  given  emphasis  in  this  pro- 
gram of  vocational  schools,  and  we  think  rightly  so.  It  has  been  said  that  Ver- 
mont is  not  an  agricultural  state.  Vermont  is  and  always  ought  to  be  primarily 
an  agricultural  state.  According  to  the  Thirteenth  Census  of  the  United  States, 
Vermont,  compared  with  other  states — the  leading  states  of  the  country  in  the 
various  departments  of  agriculture — more  than  holds  her  own. 

Vermont's  dairying  industry  compares  most  favorably  with  that  of  Wisconsin, 
the  leading  dairying  state.  Assuming  that  Vermont  had  as  many  dairy  cows 
in  1909  as  she  had  in  1910,  the  value  of  all  her  dairy  products  for  each  dairy  cow 
(excluding  milk  and  cream  used  at  home)  was  in  the  former  year  $45.68  as  against 
$30.57  in  Wisconsin;  she  produced  from  each  dairy  cow  431  gallons  of  milk  as 
against  311  gallons  in  Wisconsin, 

The  value  of  Vermont's  cereal  crop  in  1909,  per  acre  of  all  cereal  lands,  was 
$19.70,  while  the  same  value  in  Illinois,  the  leading  state  in  the  production  of 
cereals,  was  $17.99;  her  corn  crop  in  1909  was  40  bushels  per  acre  of  corn  lands, 
of  the  value  of  $25.30,  w^hile  the  corn  crop  in  Illinois,  the  largest  corn-producing 
state,  was  only  39  bushels  per  acre,  of  the  value  of  $19.74;  she  produced  21  bushels 
of  wheat  per  acre  of  wheat  lands,  of  the  value  of  $21.06,  while  North  Dakota  the 
leading  state  in  wheat  production,  had  only  14  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  of  the  value 
of  $13.33;she  produced 30 bushels  of  oats  per  acre  of  oat  lands,  of  the  value  of  $16.35, 
while  Iowa,  the  leading  state  in  the  production  of  oats,  had  only  28  bushels  of 
oats  per  acre,  of  the  value  of  $10.53;  she  produced  27  bushels  of  barley  per  acre 
of  barley  lands,  of  the  value  of  $21.33,  while  Minnesota,  the  leading  state  in  the 
production  of  barley,  had  only  22  bushels  of  barley  per  acre,  of  the  value  of  $11.00; 
she  produced  15  bushels  of  rye  per  acre  of  rye  lands,  of  the  value  of  $13.03,  while 
Michigan,  the  leading  state  in  the  production  of  rye,  had  only  14  bushels  per  acre, 
of  the  value  of  $9.41;  she  produced  23  bushels  of  buckwheat  per  acre  of  buck- 
wheat lands,  of  the  value  of  $15.94,  while  New  York,  the  leading  state  in  the  pro- 
duction of  buckwheat,  had  only  20  bushels  per  acre,  of  the  value  of  $12.53. 

Vermont's  product  of  hay  and  forage,  although  less  than  that  of  Iowa,  the  lead- 
ing state  in  the  production  of  that  crop,  exceeds  in  value  per  acre  the  hay  and 
forage  of  Iowa,  Iowa's  crop  per  acre  being  valued  at  $11.76,  Vermont's  at  $15.85, 
Furthermore,  in  the  production  of  hay  and  forage  Vermont's  product  per  acre  of 
grass  lands  exceeds  that  of  any  other  New  England  state  as  well  as  the  State  of 
New  York,  the  second  largest  producing  state.  Vermont  raises  1 .46  tons  per  acre 
of  grass  lands,  while  New  York  raises  1.40  tons  per  acre. 

New  York,  the  largest  producer  of  potatoes  in  the  country,  raises  123  bushels 
per  acre  of  potato  lands.  Maine  produces  210  bushels  per  acre.  Of  all  the  New 
England  States  and  New  York,  Vermont,  in  the  production  of  potatoes  per  acre 
of  potato  lands,  is  second  only  to  the  state  of  Maine.  Vermont's  product  is  144 
bushels  per  acre. 


38  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

Of  the  New  England  States,  Vermont  is  second  only  to  the  State  of  Maine  in 
the  value  of  her  forest  products. 

'  Vermont  produces  40,953  gallons  of  maple  syrup  and  7,726,817  pounds  of  maple 
sugar.  In  the  production  of  maple  syrup  she  ranks  third  among  the  states  of 
the  Union,  and  in  the  production  of  maple  sugar  she  far  outranks  any  other  state, 
making  54.95  per  cent  of  all  the  maple  sugar  made  in  the  United  States. 

When  it  is  considered  that  Vermont's  crops  were  grown  from  only  73.7  per 
cent  of  her  improved  farm  lands,  that  from  1900  to  1910  these  lands  decreased 
to  the  extent  of  492,659  acres,  and  that,  in  spite  of  such  decrease  in  acreage  of 
improved  land,  the  value  of  her  crops  from  1899  to  1909  increased  51.1  per  cent, 
it  is  clear  that  the  opportunities  for  agricultural  development  are  truly  wonderful. 

Objection  to  the  exploitation  of  Vermont  as  an  agricultural  state  comes  from 
those  who  maintain  that  the  state  is  primarily  industrial  and  that  her  greatest 
future  prosperity  lies  in  the  development  of  manufacturing  within  her  borders. 
The  question  is  not  academic  but  vitally  practical  in  the  adoption  of  a  policy  of 
vocational  education.  It  is  certain  that  the  distant  future  can  hardly  be  foreseen; 
it  is  equally  certain  that  the  vocational  needs  of  the  state  are  now  mainly 
agricultural. 

For  a  proper  comparison  to  determine  whether  the  state  is  agricultural  or  indus- 
trial, several  bases  have  been  suggested.  It  is  claimed  that  the  number  of  persons 
engaged  in  the  vocations  of  agriculture  and  manufacturing,  compared,  will 
show  that  Vermont  is  primarily  industrial;  but  this  is  not  a  true  basis,  for 
while  there  may  be  more  persons  in  the  state  who  obtain  a  livelihood  from  indus- 
trial work  than  from  agricultural  work,  it  is  the  respective  values  of  these  two 
vocations  to  all  the  people  of  the  state  that  should  be  considered.  It  is  also  claimed 
that  the  value  of  farm  properties  compared  with  the  value  of  industrial  properties, 
is  determinative  of  the  question.  The  inquiry  on  this  basis,  however,  can  be 
nothing  but  speculative,  for  it  involves  on  the  one  hand  the  value  of  Vermont's 
agricultural  resources  if  fully  developed  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  value  of  her 
natural  resources  of  stone  and  mineral  deposits  and  her  undeveloped  water  powers. 
If  the  amount  of  investment  in  these  respective  vocations  is  a  criterion,  then  our 
agricultural  interests  have  an  investment  of  $145,399,728,  while  $73,470,000  rep- 
resents the  amount  of  our  industrial  investment;  and  recent  statistics  show  that 
the  amount  of  capital  invested  in  manufacturing  in  Vermont  increased,  from  1904 
to  1909,  17.5  per  cent,  while  the  capital  invested  in  agriculture  increased,  from 
1900  to  1910,  34.1  per  cent.  It  seems  clear  that  the  one  true  basis  of  comparison 
is  that  disclosed  by  the  value  of  the  state's  products  in  these  respective  vocations. 

In  the  industrial  vocation  this  value  appears  in  the  amount  of  value  added  by 
the  process  of  manufacture.  The  United  States  Census  Bureau  well  says  that 
this  figure  best  represents  the  net  wealth  created  by  manufacturing  operations; 
and  it  is  the  net  wealth  of  a  state  in  any  development  that  counts.  In  agricul- 
ture the  value  of  the  products  well  represents  the  net  wealth  of  agricultural  activi- 


VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  39 

ties  in  the  state.  In  manufacturing,  however,  a  large  part  of  the  value  of  the 
product  represents  the  value  of  the  materials  used,  many  of  which  have  been  pro- 
duced by  agriculture.  In  agricultural  operations,  on  the  other  hand,  the  product 
does  not  in  any  appreciable  degree  include  the  value  of  materials  furnished  by 
some  other  development,  but  represents  something  developed  directly  from  the 
natural  resources  of  the  state. 

The  net  wealth  of  the  state,  thus  created  by  its  manufacturing  operations  in 
1909,  was  $33,487,000.  In  compiling  the  value  of  agricultural  products  to  be 
compared  therewith,  every  product  that  can  be  said  in  any  way  to  include  the  value 
of  "materials"  has  been  eliminated,  as,  for  example,  the  value  of  poultry  ($759,362), 
the  value  of  domestic  animals  slaughtered  on  farms  ($1,468,345),  the  value  of 
domestic  animals  sold  ($5,990,550),  and  the  value  of  all  forest  products  ($3,638,637). 
With  such  elimination,  the  value  of  Vermont's  agricultural  products  in  1909,  that 
is,  the  value  resulting  from  agricultural  processes,  is  as  follows : 

Value  of  dairy  products  (excluding  all  milk  and  cream  used  on  the 

farm  producing)  $12,128,465 

Value  of  wool  products  192,002 

Value  of  goathair  or  mohair  products  136 

Value  of  eggs  1,715,221 

Value  of  honey  25,351 

Value  of  wax  815 

Value  of  crops  (excluding  forest  products)  23,808,299 


Total  $37,870,289 

The  net  wealth  of  the  state  created  by  manufacturing  operations  in  1909  was, 
as  seen,  $33,487,000,  while  the  net  wealth  of  the  state  created  by  its  agricultural 
operations  in  that  year  was  $37,870,289,  a  very  material  excess. 

Moreover  in  this  comparison  manufacturing  is  given  an  undue  advantage,  for 
its  figures  include  $16,005,000  net  wealth  created  by  manufacturing  in  marble  and 
stone,  lumber  and  timber,  and  dairy  and  grist-mill  products.  Furthermore,  in 
comparing  the  relative  importance  of  manufacturing  and  agriculture,  the  common 
conception  of  manufacturing  as  an  industry  does  not  include  such  activities  as 
the  production  of  marble  and  stone,  lumber  and  timber,  and  dairy  and  grist-mill 
products. 

Taken  on  this  basis,  it  is  apparent  that  agriculture  and  products  taken  out  of 
the  earth  bring  to  the  state  not  only  a  larger  amount  of  net  wealth  than  manufac- 
turing, but  an  overwhelming  excess  of  wealth  as  compared  to  manufacturing. 

Here,  then,  is  a  present  certainty.  The  state  is  agriculturally  predominant  and 
predominantly  agricultural  today.  Where  does  her  greatest  future  prosperity  lie? 
Is  it,  as  claimed,  in  the  development  of  her  water  powers?  She  has  a  wonderful 
endowment  of  undeveloped  water  power  resources,  but  their  utilization  will  require 


40  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

the  investment  of  large  amounts  of  capital  in  the  construction  of  vast  storage  basins, 
and  when,  as  now,  water  power  generated  into  electric  power  is  transmitted  two 
hundred  miles  without  appreciable  loss,  the  development  of  these  water  powers 
does  not  necessarily  mean  the  building  and  operation  of  manufacturing  establish- 
ments. Vermont  does  not  need  large  communities  of  industrial  workers  as  mar- 
kets for  her  agricultural  products.  By  the  recent  extension  of  the  parcel  post 
system,  her  farm  produce  and  products  will  surely  find  an  insatiable  market  beyond 
her  own  borders.  In  the  light  of  present  facts  and  future  probabilities,  the  Com- 
mission believes  that  vocational  education  should  be  emphatically  directed  to  the 
training  of  the  youth  of  the  state  in  scientifically  practical  agriculture. 

The  statutory  provision  that  "no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  public  school  advan- 
tages on  account  of  age,"  is  of  special  significance  in  the  matter  of  vocational 
training  in  agricultural  pursuits.  It  sanctions  the  undertaking  of  agricultural 
extension  work  as  a  part  of  our  public  educational  system  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
to  the  men  and  women  actively  engaged  in  farming  the  benefit  of  scientific  research 
in  agriculture.  Under  recent  federal  legislation,  the  State  Agricultural  College  is 
enabled  to  carry  on  one  form,  at  least,  of  such  extension  work,  namely,  by  actual 
demonstrations  on  his  own  farm,  or  on  some  farm  in  his  vicinity,  to  take  to  the 
farmer  the  results  of  the  research  work  of  the  experiment  station.  The  state  may 
well  undertake,  as  a  part  of  vocational  training  in  agriculture,  to  extend  agricul- 
tural education  to  her  farmers  by  appropriations  to  the  State  Agricultural  College 
to  be  used,  not  only  in  the  training  of  agricultural  teachers  for  the  senior  high 
schools — discussed  elswhere  in  this  report — but  in  cooperation  with  the  federal 
extension  work.  The  importance  of  educational  effort  of  this  character  can  not 
be  over  estimated.  The  Special  Report  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Maine  for  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  for  the  year  1913  well  says: 
"The  function  of  the  College  Extension  Service  is  something  more  than  the  promo- 
tion of  agriculture;  it  is  the  organization  and  developemnt  of  the  industry.  It 
aims  not  only  to  spread  agricultural  truths,  but  to  set  agricultural  truths  at  work. 
It  believes  in  the  'business'  of  farming  and  therefore  deals  with  agriculture  from 
the  economic  standpoint.  Its  slogan  is, — 'Greater  profits  in  farming',"  Tliat 
institution  in  1913,  in  connection  with  extension  work,  inaugurated  with  markedly 
successful  results  its  Farm  Demonstration  Work,  of  which  the  report  says,  "It 
appears  to  be  one  of  the  most  practical  and  resultful  plans  thus  far  found,  to  spread 
and  actually  set  at  work  fundamental  truths  in  successful  farming."  In  the  prac- 
tical operation  of  such  extension  work  the  farmer  learns  what  he  himself  can  do 
by  his  jown  labor  on  his  own  land.  It  means  better  and  consequently  more  profi- 
table results  from  his  own  labor  on  his  own  farm.  Compared  with  vitally  active 
extension  work  in  agriculture,  the  establishment  of  so-called  model  or  practice 
farms  is  of  negligible  importance.  It  is  not  what  the  farmer  may  learn  by  leaving 
his  own  acres  and  visiting  an  institutional  farm,  but  what  he  observes  of  the  results 
of  his  own  efforts,  under  intelligent  advice  and  supervision,  upon  his  own  acres. 


VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  41 

that  is  primarily  important.  Model  or  practice  farms,  however,  may  well  be 
developed  in  connection  with  the  vocational  departments  of  the  senior  high  schools, 
for  the  purposes  of  experiment  and  instruction. 

The  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  recommends  the  establishment  of  special 
vocational  schools  in  agriculture  of  the  type  of  the  State  Agricultural  School  at 
Randolph.  The  Commission  believes  that  the  state  should  now  direct  its  effort 
along  this  line,  not  to  the  establishment  of  other  schools  of  this  type,  but  to  the 
improvement  and  enlargement  of  the  school  already  established.  In  the  Randolph 
school  the  state  has  laid  the  foundation  for  a  school  of  practical  agricultural  and 
vocational  training,  and  although  its  present  equipment  is  inadequate,  its  work, 
to  the  extent  of  its  appropriations,  has  been  creditable.  The  predominance  of 
agriculture  among  the  industries  of  the  state,  however,  requires  that  this  school 
be  adequately  equipped  and  generously  supported,  so  that  under  a  competent 
staff  of  efficient  instructors  its  work  shall  place  it  among  schools  of  the  first  rank 
in  practical  agricultural  training.  Until  this  is  accomplished,  the  state  should 
take  no  measures  toward  the  establishing  of  other  schools  of  agriculture,  thereby 
duplicating  the  work  of  the  school  at  Randolph  and  conducting  two  or  more  only 
partly  efficient  schools.  It  would  seem  too  clear  to  require  argument  that  one 
wholly  efficient  school  must  first  be  had  before  others  of  the  same  class  can  reasona- 
bly be  considered  with  favor. 

The  training  given  should  be  practical.  Its  graduates  should  be  fitted  to  operate 
a  farm  not  as  an  exposition  of  scientific  agriculture,  but  as  a  business  of  practical 
farming  using  the  aids  thereto  furnished  by  the  discoveries  of  science  in  the  field 
of  agriculture.  In  other  days  the  farmer  taught  his  boys  on  the  farm — not  always 
consciously — something  about  dairying,  live-stock,  rotating  crops,  and  the  like — 
information  more  or  less  inexact  that  he  had  picked  up  from  observation  and 
experience.  In  these  days,  however,  modern  science,  practically  api)lied,  gives; 
exact  information  in  many  matters  of  this  sort,  and  in  others,  so  approximately 
near  as  to  be  practical  knowledge  essential  to  successful  farming.  The  graduates 
of  this  school  should  be  able  to  tell  what  a  given  soil  needs  to  make  it  most  fertile 
and  what  crop  is  most  suited  to  it;  they  should  be  able  to  identify  noxious  weeds,, 
plant  diseases,  insect  pests,  and  the  common  ills  of  live-stock,  and  to  combat  themo 
successfully;  they  should  be  trained  judges  of  breeds  more  commonly  kept;  they 
should  know  how  to  determine  the  cost  of  keeping  and  the  value  of  dairy  products 
of  each  dairy  cow  independent  of  milk  and  cream  tests  at  the  creamery;  they 
should  be  able  to  determine  the  profit  or  loss  of  any  given  part  of  the  business  of 
farming  as  actually  conducted;  and,  in  short,  to  do  skilfully  everything  on  the 
farm  that  untrained  farmers  have  hitherto  done  more  or  less  unskilfully.  To  this 
end  its  equipment  and  teaching  staff  should  be  much  increased  and  strengthened 
and  its  annual  appropriations  should  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the 
institution. 

Its  course  should  be  emphatically  agricultural  and,  at  the  same  time,  broadly 


42  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

vocational  in  manual  training.  Today  manufacturing  operations  are  largely 
made  up  of  special  mechanical  work;  and  it  requires  little  or  no  special  training 
to  operate  the  near-human  machinery  of  modern  industry.  For  the  present,  at 
least,  public  vocational  education  in  the  industries  should  be  directed,  not  toward 
training  in  manufacturing  industries  of  more  or  less  specialized  operations,  but 
toward  making  the  youth  skilful  in  manual  work,  and  toward  training  them  to 
fashion  things  by  hand-craft,  not  to  operate  machinery.  A  boy  trained  in  practical 
agriculture  should,  as  incident  thereto,  be  sufficiently  trained  in  carpentry,  in 
blacksmithing,  in  masonry  including  work  in  cement,  and  the  like,  to  be  able  to 
meet  the  conditions  on  the  farm  when  such  work  is  required  to  be  done  economi- 
cally and  without  unnecessary  delay. 

The  Commission's  recommendations  respecting  vocational  education  may  be 
summarized  as  follows : 

1.  The  instruction  in  the  public  schools  to  be  of  that  character  to  educate  the 
youth  toward  the  occupations  of  the  communities  in  which  they  live. 

2.  The  establishment  in  the  junior  high  schools  of  semi- vocational  courses  offer- 
ing opportunities  for  instruction  in  commercial  subjects,  domestic  science,  manual 
training,  and  agriculture,  appropriate  to  the  needs  and  environment  of  the  particu- 
lar school. 

3.  The  establishment  in  the  senior  high  schools  of  high  grade  courses  in  agricul- 
ture, together  with  courses  in  manual  training,  commercial  subjects  and  domestic 
science. 

4.  The  strengthening  of  the  equipment  and  teaching  staff  of  the  State  Agricul- 
tural School  and  the  increase  of  its  appropriations;  and  the  development  therein 
of  courses  in  manual  training,  incident  to  agricultural  training,  and  in  some  measure 
fitting  for  the  pursuit  of  the  manual  trades  as  vocations. 

5.  State  appropriations  to  the  State  Agricultural  College  for  the  purpose  of: 
(a)  Training  teachers  in  agriculture  for  the  high  schools;  (6)  Cooperating  with 
the  federal  extension  work  in  agriculture. 


VII 
TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  AND  SUPERVISION 

In  the  furtherance  of  the  work  of  the  survey  of  Vermont's  educational  system 
and  conditions,  the  Commission  requested  over  two  thousand  persons  in  the  state 
to  express  their  best  judgment  as  to  the  essential  matters  that  should  first  receive 
attention  in  order  to  enable  the  schools  of  the  state  to  render  the  most  effective 
service  to  the  children  and  to  the  people  of  the  state.  Out  of  940  replies  received 
in  response  to  these  requests,  313  specified  "better  trained  teachers,"  156  specified 
"higher  salaries  for  teachers,"  and  148  specified  "more  efficient  supervision;"  and 
these  three  expressions  of  judgment  were  the  strongest  numerically  in  the  order 
named.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  teacher  is  universally  regarded  as  the  key- 
stone of  the  educational  arch.  A  survey  of  the  educational  system  ultimately 
reveals  the  crucial  importance  of  efficient  teachers  who,  above  schools,  books, 
equipment  and  courses  of  study,  are  the  source  of  right  instructions. 

As  already  noticed,  the  vital  problem  of  elementary-school  instruction  rests  not 
in  the  subjects  taught,  but  rather  in  the  failure  to  adapt  the  things  taught  to  the 
daily  experiences  and  needs  of  the  child.  The  solution  of  this  problem  demands  a 
teaching  staff  sympathetically  familiar  with  those  experiences  and  needs  and  fitted 
by  training  to  bring  the  child  where  he  will  automatically  apply  his  instruction  to 
them.  To  meet  this  demand  the  state  now  maintains  two  so-called  normal  schools 
and  aids  the  teacher-training  courses  in  the  secondary  schools.  The  most  favorable 
view  to  be  taken  of  this  situation  reveals  a  duplication  of  effort  the  correction  of 
which  is  as  important  in  the  public  schools  as  in  institutions  of  higher  learning. 
The  Commission  might  review  the  discussion  in  the  Carnegie  Foundation's  report 
and  the  very  lucid  and  convincing  statement  contained  in  the  last  Vermont  School 
Report  made  by  the  superintendent  of  education,  relating  to  the  deficiences  of  the 
normal  schools  in  essential  facilities  for  observation  and  practice  and  to  the  local 
instead  of  state-wide,  character  of  their  patronage,  as  ample  reasons  why  these 
schools  should  no  longer  be  continued.  In  all  that  the  Commission  heartily  concurs. 

Above  all  other  considerations,  however,  the  practical  question  of  how  to  secure 
a  sufficient  number  of  suitable  teachers  is  now  of  first  importance.  The  state 
needs  about  400  new  teachers  annually  for  its  elementary  schools  and  the  report 
of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  points  out  that  the  present  normal  schools  have  utterly 
failed  to  meet  this  need.     The  report  says: 

"Where  is  Vermont  to  look  each  year  for  400  new  and  well-trained  teachers 
to  conduct  her  elementary  schools  in  decent  fashion?  *  *  *  The  solution  of  the 
problem  has  hitherto  been  sought  in  two  directions.  For  nearly  fifty  years  three, 
and  more  recently  two,  low-grade  normal  schools  have  been  merely  reviewing 
elementary  school  subjects;  pupils  directly  from  the  elementary  schools  have 
formed  the  great  bulk  of  attendance,  and  during  the  ten  years  1903-12  the  three 
schools  together  averaged  87  graduates  annually  from  this  'lower  course.'    *  *  * 


44  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 

From  their  'higher  course,'  which  alone  deserves  recognition  here,  the  three  schools 
have  had  during  the  same  ten  years  an  average  combined  annual  output  of  eight, 
or,  including  regraduates  and  specials,  fifteen!  What  are  these  among  400?" 
The  report  also  shows  that  in  1913  Johnson  and  Castleton  together  graduated 
72  teachers:  18  from  the  new  two-year  course  for  high-school  graduates,  30  from 
the  new  "lower  course"  (equivalent  to  a  four-year  high  school  course),  and  24 
from  courses  still  lower.  Of  the  72  graduates  in  1913,  the  report  says:  "Of  these 
practically  all  of  the  higher  course  graduates  are  teaching  in  graded  schools;  49  of 
the  54  others  are  in  rural  schools."  The  lower  courses  are  thus  doing  the  same 
work  as  teacher-training  courses  in  training  teachers  for  the  rural  schools.  That 
the  tendency  of  the  normal  schools  is  not  toward  the  training  of  teachers  in  advance 
of  the  training  courses,  but  in  competition  therewith  appears  from  their  output  in 
1914,    as   follows: 

Castleton        Johnson         Total 

84 


84 


Castleton 

Johnson 

Tote 

Graduates 

36 

48 

Two-year  course  for  high  school 

graduates 

8 

7 

15 

Lower  or  elementary  course 

28 

41 

69 

High  school  graduates  in  lower  course  26  30  56 

Not  high  school  graduates  in  lower 

course  2  11  13 

69 

The  higher  course  graduates  were  15  as  compared  with  18  in  1913,  and  the  lowe^ 
course  graduates,  who  were  graduates  of  high  schools  or  academies  at  the  time  of 
taking  the  normal  course,  were  56  as  compared  with  30  graduates  in  1913  from  the 
course  called  equivalent  to  a  four-year  high  school  course,  although  in  fact  there 
were  no  graduates  in  1913,  who  were  graduates  of  high  schools  or  academies,  except 
the  graduates  from  the  higher  course.  In  other  words,  the  output  of  the  higher 
course  has  decreased,  while  the  output  of  the  lower  course  in  direct  competition 
with,  and  duplication  of,  the  work  of  the  teacher-training  courses  in  the  high  schools, 
has  increased  from  30  to  56.  Despite  this  increase  and  without  regard  to  the 
financial  waste  consequent  upon  such  duplication,  it  may  well  be  asked,  what  are 
those  55  among  400?  If  the  normal  schools  were  turning  out  a  large  number  of 
teachers  more  highly  trained  for  elementary  school  teaching  than  the  graduates 
of  the  teacher-training  courses,  they  might  justify  themselves,  although  they 
would  not  be  meeting  the  crying  need  of  the  state  for  hundreds  of  teachers  annually 
for  the  rural  schools.  But  their  tendency  today  is  to  attempt  vainly  to  meet  this 
need,  when,  in  the  light  of  the  great  success  attending  the  training  of  teachers  in 
high  schools  and  academies  (hereinafter  discussed),  the  one  work  justifying  their 
existence,  namely,  the  training  of  a  considerable  number  of  teachers  for  elementary 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  45 

school  teaching  of  a  higher  grade,  is  a  work  they  are  not  doing  and  one  which  the 
state  does  not  greatly  require. 

The  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  in  his  report  for  1913  says  ; 

"A  recent  law  in  Vermont,  by  allowing  recognition  to  training  courses  in  high 
schools  equal  to  that  accorded  to  the  two  normal  schools,  apparently  tends  to  lower 
the  standard  for  teaching  in  that  state." 

Such  a  tendency,  however,  is  apparent  only,  and  the  appearance  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  chief  work  of  the  normal  schools  has  been  of  no  higher  standard  than 
that  more  recently  done  in  the  training  courses,  and  that  the  normal  schools,  upon 
the  establishment  of  the  training  courses,  have  magnified  the  work  of  their  lower 
course  in  direct  competition  with  the  work  of  the  training  courses,  and  have  treated 
as  of  less  im})ortance  the  work  of  their  higher  course,  w  hich  alone  entitles  them  in 
any  measure  to  the  name  of  normal  schools.  The  statement  of  the  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education,  in  speaking  of  the  different  kinds  of  institutions  called 
normal  schools,  that  "There  is  a  need,  if  not  for  some  delimitation  of  function, 
certainly  for  some  distinguishing  standard  with  which  to  classify  institutions  so 
different,  yet  bearing  alike  the  name  of  'normal  school,'  "  is  particularly  applicable 
to  our  own  institutions  at  Castleton  and  Johnson. 

Without  more  particular  reference  the  Commission  firmly  believes  that  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  respecting  the  normal  schools  is 
wholly  sound.  The  Commission,  therefore,  recommends  the  discontinuance,  as 
normal  schools,  of  the  two  institutions  now  conducted  at  Johnson  and  Castleton. 

As  early  as  1876  the  idea  of  educating  school  teachers  by  instructing  them  in  the 
public  schools  was  enacted  into  law.  By  No.  49  of  the  Acts  of  1876,  it  was  provided 
that  any  graded  school,  organized  by  special  act  and  situated  in  a  county  where 
there  was  no  normal  school,  might  establish,  in  connection  with  such  graded  school, 
a  training  school  department  for  the  instruction  and  training  of  teachers.  The  state 
superintendent  of  education  was  empowered  to  arrange  two  courses  of  study,  one 
to  include  instruction  and  practice  in  the  science  of  teaching  all  branches  required  to 
be  taught  in  the  common  schools,  the  other  to  include  instruction  and  practice  in 
higher  branches  to  be  prescribed  by  him,  in  addition  to  the  branches  of  the  first 
course.  It  was  provided  that  certificates  of  graduation  should  be  granted  to  all 
who  should  pass  the  required  examinations  in  either  course,  the  certificates  of 
graduation  from  the  first  course  and  the  second  course  to  have  the  effect  of  licenses 
to  teach  in  the  common  schools  for  five  years  and  ten  years  respectively,  such 
examinations  to  be  conducted  by  the  state  superintendent  of  education  and  two 
other  oflBcials  named,  who  were  constituted  a  board  to  revoke  the  licenses  upon 
cause  shown.  The  trustees  of  the  graded  school  district  were  required  to  make 
annual  reports  to  the  state  superintendent  of  education  of  the  number  of  students 
in  the  training  school  department,  the  number  of  certificates  granted  in  each 
course,  and  "all  matters  pertaining  to  the  regulations  and  government  of  said 
training  school  department." 


46  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 

Here  was  the  seed  of  legislation  looking  toward  a  supply  of  teachers  for  the 
common  schools  in  connection  with  regular  school  activities.  By  the  revision  of 
the  statutes  in  1880,  however,  this  seed  was  crowded  out  by  the  growth  of  normal 
school  legislation.  The  two  courses  were  treated  conjunctly  with  the  normal  school 
course,  and  admission  to  the  higher  course  was  made  dependent  upon  graduation 
from  the  lower  course  and  a  full  exercise  of  the  five-year  license  to  teach  then 
issued.  It  is  clear  that  in  this  way  the  higher  course  in  the  training  school  was 
practically  wiped  out.  By  No.  9,  Acts  of  1888,  that  part  of  the  Revised  Laws, 
respecting  licenses  to  teach  issued  to  graduates  of  the  training  school,  was  repealed 
and  no  provision  was  made  for  issuing  certificates  to  such  graduates;  and  it  was 
expressly  enacted  that  no  person  should  teach  a  public  school  without  a  certificate. 
In  other  words,  the  state  continued  its  provision  for  training  teachers  in  its  public 
schools  but  forbade  them  to  teach  after  being  trained,  until  1894  when  the  training- 
school  graduates  were  made  eligible  to  certification  as  formerly.  Thus  the  law 
stood  until  repealed  in  1906. 

To  what  extent  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  1876  were  taken  advantage  of  through 
its  unsteady  career,  it  does  not  appear.  Its  legislative  history  indicates  that  it 
received  no  encouragement  from  the  advocates  of  teacher-training  in  normal  schools 
and  that  as  a  plan  for  supplying  the  state  with  teachers  for  the  common  schools,  it 
was  ineffective  through  failure  of  proper  support.  It  aimed  to  train  teachers  for 
the  schools  of  the  state,  as  did  the  normal  schools;  but  while  the  latter  were  sup- 
ported by  the  state  and  were  provided  with  competent  instructors,  the  former  re- 
ceived no  state  aid  and  had  no  special  instructors  competent  to  train  teachers. 

In  1910,  the  idea  of  training  teachers  in  the  public  schools  was  re-enacted  into 
law.  It  was  provided  that  high  schools  and  academies  of  the  first  class,  in  connec- 
tion with  their  regular  work,  might  establish  and  maintain  a  teacher-training 
course  under  the  direction  and  with  the  approval  of  the  superintendent  of  education 
who  should  prescribe  the  curriculum  and  appoint  the  special  teacher  therefor.  The 
element  of  practice  teaching,  provided  by  the  Act  of  1876  but  immediately  lost  in 
the  legislative  shuffle,  was  recognized,  it  being  required  that  no  such  course  should 
be  approved  unless  there  were  at  least  three  elementary  graded  schools  available 
for  observation  and  practice  purposes.  That  the  legislation  is  of  state  concern, 
appears  from  the  requirement  that  the  students  to  be  taught  shall  be  willing  to 
teach  in  the  public  schools  of  the  state  and  from  the  provision  for  state  aid  to  the 
extent  of  $800  whenever  the  high  school  or  academy  expends,  in  addition  thereto, 
at  least  $200  in  salary  for  such  special  teacher.  In  1912  the  law  was  materially 
broadened  and  strengthened.  The  teacher-training  course  in  the  secondary  school, 
at  first  an  experiment  of  doubtful  value  to  many  friends  of  education,  has  already 
proven  its  worth  as  a  source  of  supply  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  elementary 
schools.  Its  graduates  have  the  requisite  training  in  the  science  of  teaching  and 
for  the  most  part,  have  kept  in  touch  with  the  rural  environment.  In  the  two  years 
following  its  establishment  it  put  249  teachers  in  the  field — 229  of  them  into  rural 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  47 

schools,  and  respecting  its  work  in  1912,  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation 
says: — 

"On  the  whole,  the  state  certainly  did  vastly  better  for  its  purpose  with  its  invest- 
ment of  $8,600  in  the  126  training-class  graduates  in  1912,  than  in  the  $20,000  that 
it  put  into  the  14  'higher  course'  and  28  'lower  course'  graduates  from  the  normal 
schools  during  the  same  year." 

The  teacher-training  course  has  proved  the  most  efficient  and  the  most  economi- 
cal way  of  training  teachers  for  the  elementary  schools.  Of  this  the  Commission 
is  firmly  convinced  by  information  received,  not  only  through  the  report  of  the 
Carnegie  Foundation,  but  independently  of  it.  After  thirty-five  years— years  in 
which  the  normal  schools,  despite  strong  moral  and  financial  support,  have  utterly 
failed  to  furnish  an  adequate  supply  of  trained  teachers — the  idea  of  training 
teachers  for  the  schools  in  the  schools,  formulated  in  suitable  legislation,  has 
developed  into  a  successful  fact.  The  Commission  strongly  advocates  the  imme- 
diate increase  in  the  number  of  teacher-training  classes  with  a  two-year  course, 
the  establishment  and  development  of  which  the  Commission  believes  to  be  one  of 
the  most  important  functions  of  the  secondary  schools  selected  therefor. 

Given  an  adequate  supply  of  trained  teachers,  the  teacher's  tenure  of  position 
is  a  consideration  of  great  importance,  for  upon  it  depends  the  growth  of  that  sub- 
conscious intercourse  between  teacher  and  pupil,  indispensable  to  good  instruc- 
tion. To  be  successful,  the  teacher  must  know  the  minds  and  hearts  of  her  pupils, 
and  they  must  feel  that  they  are  known  by  her.  It  may  not  be  an  overstatement 
to  say  that  the  work  of  a  teacher  for  a  single  term  in  a  new  school  is  almost  valueless 
instructively,  even  though — as  doubtless  too  often  happens — she  does  not  thresh 
over  the  dry  straw  left  by  her  predecessor.  Closely  related  to  the  matter  of  tenure 
of  position  is  that  of  teachers'  salaries.  It  is  said  that  Vermont,  of  all  the  states  of 
the  Union,  stands  forty-third  in  the  average  annual  salary  of  public  school  teachers 
and  that  the  majority  of  rural  teachers  receive  an  annual  salary  of  $250  to  $350. 
The  standard  of  the  salary  of  elementary  school  teachers  should  be  materially 
raised,  especially  in  the  rural  sections.  In  these  matters  a  very  grave  responsibility 
rests  upon  local  boards  of  school  directors,  a  responsibility  not  commonly  met 
because,  probably,  not  appreciated.  The  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  says 
that  the  amount  of  teachers'  salaries  and  the  manner  of  payment  should  be  pre- 
scribed and  guaranteed  by  the  state,  and  that  they  should  be  subject  to  state  in- 
spection and  criticism.  The  Commission  approves  the  suggestion  that  the  state 
should  prescribe  the  manner  of  payment  and  believes  that  the  amount  should  be 
subject  to  state  inspection  and  criticism.  The  fixing  of  the  amount,  however, 
should  remain  within  the  province  of  the  local  authorities,  subject  to  the  super- 
vision of  the  board  of  education.  That  "the  elementary  school  teachers  should 
work  under  conditions  controlled  by  the  state"  is  a  recommendation  which  the 
Commission  heartily  endorses  with  respect  to  the  teacher's  tenure  of  position. 
School  teachers,  in  either  the  elementary  or  secondary  school,  should  be  assured  of 


48  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 

their  positions  during  good  behavior  and  should  not  be  permitted  to  change  their 
locations  in  the  state  except  to  receive  an  increase  of  salary — and  then  only  at  the 
end  of  the  school  year;  provided  that  by  the  sanction  of  regulations  therefor,  to  be 
established  by  the  board  of  education,  teachers  might  be  removed  for  cause  shown 
not  affecting  their  behavior  and  might  change  their  locations  in  the  state  for  cause 
shown,  regardless  of  salary.  Assured  of  reasonable  compensation  and  stability  of 
position,  the  work  of  the  teacher  will  become  more  professional,  and  consequently 
more  efficient. 

The  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  treats  the  teacher-training  courses  as  a 
source  of  supply  of  teachers  for  the  rural  elementary  schools  and  recommends  the 
establishment  of  a  central  training-school  for  teachers  in  the  higher  grades  of  urban 
schools  in  the  junior  high  schools.  The  report  also  recognizes  the  fact  that  such 
a  central  training-school  is  not  now  indispensable.  It  says:  "In  Vermont  it  would, 
of  course,  be  quite  possible  to  continue  as  heretofore  and  allow  the  better  positions 
in  the  state  to  be  filled  by  a  process  of  natural  selection  from  merit  in  the  lower 
grades  or  from  material  attracted  from  abroad."  In  its  discussion  of  the  normal 
schools  the  report  says:  "Vermont  has  tried  in  vain  for  fifty  years  to  bring  pupils 
to  her  training-schools;  when  she  takes  the  training-schools  to  the  pupils  there  is 
response  at  once."  Experience,  therefore,  cautions  against  the  establishment  of 
a  special  training-school.  The  Commission  is  strong  in  the  belief  that  training  of 
the  character  proposed  for  such  a  central  training-school  is  the  only  kind  of  normal 
training  the  state  should  undertake,  now  or  hereafter,  in  a  special  institution  there- 
for, and  that  such  training  when  given  should  be  in  a  single,  strong,  well-equipped 
central  institution.  Without,  however,  in  any  way  discouraging  the  establish- 
ment of  such  an  institution  whenever  the  needs  of  the  state  in  this  class  of  teachers 
require  it,  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  teacher-training  courses  in  the 
secondary  schools  will  amply  meet  the  teaching  requirements  of  the  elementary 
schools,  both  rural  and  urban,  and  of  the  earlier  years  of  the  junior  high  schools, 
all  of  which  are  now  within  the  class  of  elementary  schools.  If  it  be  thought  that 
the  graduates  of  the  teacher-training  courses  will  not  be  equipped  to  teach  in  the 
junior  high  schools,  it  would  appear  to  be  entirely  feasible  to  train  teachers  for  the 
junior  high  schools — for  the  earlier  years  even — in  the  way  recommended  elsewhere 
for  the  training  of  teachers  for  the  secondary  schools,  for  under  the  proposed  new 
classification  of  schools,  the  junior  high  schools  are  secondary  schools  no  less  than 
the  senior  high  schools. 

The  training  of  secondary-school  teachers  is  discussed  under  the  title,  "Middle- 
bury  College." 

Supervision 

As  respects  the  work  of  superintendence  and  supervision,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  Vermont  was  one  of  the  pioneer  states  in  the  adoption  of  a  state  system  of 
supervision.     In  1845,  the  legislature,  by  a  single  enactment  (No.  37,  Acts  of  1845), 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  49 

provided  for  a  comprehensive  and  cooperating  system  of  school  supervision  by 
town  superintendents,  appointed  by  the  freemen  of  the  towns  at  their  annual 
March  meeting,  by  county  superintendents,  appointed  annually  by  the  judges  of 
the  county  courts,  and  by  a  state  superintendent,  appointed  annually  by  the 
General  Assembly. 

As  this  work  requires  a  thorough  appreciation  by  the  superintendent  of  the  per- 
sonality of  the  teachers,  the  importance  of  permanency  of  position  is  apparent. 
The  Commission  fully  endorses  the  system  of  school  unions  for  the  improvement 
of  instruction  by  union  superintendence.  Heretofore,  the  establishment  of  such 
unions  has  been  optional  with  the  school  directors  of  neighboring  towns,  the  towns 
not  within  a  union  having  a  town  superintendent  of  schools  as  formerly.  The 
efficiency  of  instruction,  the  general  improvement  in  school  buildings,  surroundings 
and  equipment,  the  arousing  of  a  united  interest  among  the  teachers,  in  the  schools 
of  a  union,  are  considerations  that  lead  the  Commission  to  recommend  a  compulsory 
unionization  of  schools.  It  seems  likely  that  of  about  sixty  towns  now  outside  of 
school  unions,  most  of  them  can  conveniently  become  a  part  of  unions  already 
formed.  So  far  as  possible  a  center  of  population  of  a  sufficient  number  of  schools 
should  be  a  union  in  itself.  Uniformity  of  work  in  the  schools  of  a  union  is  desirable, 
and  to  this  end  the  superintendent's  tenure  of  office  should  be  stable.  We  endorse 
what  is  said  in  this  respect  in  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation : 

"Superintendents  who  have  shown  acceptable  ability  should  be  assured  per- 
manent tenure  of  office.  In  every  case  their  dependence  for  office  should  be  re- 
moved as  far  as  possible  from  local  influences."  As  representatives  of  the  state 
board  of  education,  their  election  and  also  their  dismissal  should  be  subject  to 
governing  regulations  by  that  board.  This  is  so  now  by  statute,  Acts  of  1912,  No. 
62,  Sec.  12. 

In  addition  to  the  system  of  superintendence  by  unions,  and  broadly  supplement- 
ing it,  we  advocate  a  close  state  supervision  by  trained,  capable  supervisors  em- 
ployed by  the  commissioner  of  education  and  responsible  only  to  him  and  the  super- 
intendent in  whose  union  they  may  be  engaged.  Their  work  should  not  be  con- 
fined to  any  particular  section  of  the  state;  their  field  of  oversight  should  be  changed 
frequently.  They  should  not  be  inspectors  merely,  but  should  "spend  their  time 
in  the  schools,  assisting  the  teachers  and  demonstrating  proper  methods,"  and 
withal  they  should  see  that  hygiene  regulations  are  properly  observed,  a  matter 
requiring  especial  attention  in  the  rural  schools. 


VIII 
AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION 

To  make  the  operation  of  the  system  of  education  consistent  and  uniform  through- 
out the  commonwealth,  giving  all  the  children  of  the  state  approximately  equal 
advantages ;  and  to  maintain  the  system  constantly  and  progressively  as  a  function 
of  government  essential  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  state,  involves  a  provision  for 
administrative  agency  and  control.  This  administrative  power  should  be  com- 
mensurate with  the  educational  regulations  established.  It  should  be  free  from 
all  influences  but  those  affecting  the  welfare  of  the  state  as  a  whole,  and  therefore 
competent  to  deal  with  school  problems  exclusively  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
public  educational  provisions  of  the  state.  To  be  efficient  in  meeting  all  the  needs 
of  all  the  people,  regulations  should  have  due  regard  to  the  courses  of  study  in  the 
elementary,  secondary,  and  vocational  schools  to  adapt  them  to  the  life  and  con- 
ditions in  the  state;  to  the  specific  training  of  teachers  to  supply  the  demands  of  the 
elementary  and  the  secondary  schools;  and  to  such  thorough  supervision  of  the 
entire  public  school  work  as  will  insure  wise  direction,  proper  counsel,  true  en- 
couragement, and  correction  of  undesirable  methods  and  results.  These  and 
other  essentials  to  the  efficient  administrative  direction  and  control  of  the  educa- 
tional instrumentalities  of  the  state,  can  be  most  surely  achieved  through  a  strong 
state  board,  supporting  and  cooperating  with  a  scientific  educator  of  ability  and 
experience,  as  its  chief  executive  oflBcer. 

Throughout  its  whole  history,  Vermont  has  definitely  committed  itself  to  the 
suitable  education  of  its  children  and  youth  for  independent  and  responsible  citizen- 
ship. From  the  start  it  recognized  public  education  as  a  "fundamental  social 
policy"  and  sovereign  duty.  In  providing  for  a  system  of  public  education  the 
school  district  was  early  made  the  unit  of  organization;  and  the  administrative 
control  was  delegated  by  the  state  through  its  legislature  to  such  restricted  areas. 
This  continued  for  many  years  to  meet  in  reasonable  degree  local  conditions  and 
the  needs  of  the  children  of  the  state,  and  was  therefore  satisfactory  to  the  people; 
but  with  the  changes  in  population,  in  the  growth  of  centers  of  population,  and  in 
other  conditions  affecting  social  life,  there  arose  demands  for  a  larger  unit  of  ad- 
ministration, looking  to  a  greater  equalization  in  educational  advantages  as  well 
as  in  the  burdens.  To  meet  these  demands  the  legislature  of  1870  enacted  laws 
permitting  the  present  town  systems;  but  it  was  not  compulsory  until  1892,  since 
which  time,  by  general  law,  the  town  has  been  the  unit  of  organization  for  school 
affairs  throughout  the  entire  state.  Yet,  as  seen,  the  real  educational  unit  is  the 
state,  and  the  subject  of  the  maintenance  and  support  of  common  schools  is  one 
which  the  state  in  its  sovereign  character  is  bound  to  sustain. 

Though  the  state  has  always  recognized  the  duty  to  give  its  children  equal  educa- 
tional opportunities,  this  has  not  always  been  the  result  of  endeavors,  because  of 
physical  conditions,  the  uneven  distribution  of  the  school  population,  and  the  un- 


AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION  51 

equal  valuations  of  assessable  property  in  the  several  towns  and  cities.  To  meet 
and  correct  the  inequalities  arising  from  the  various  causes,  the  state  has  sought 
from  time  to  time,  in  effect,  to  distribute  the  burden  more  evenly  to  cover  the  whole 
state,  to  the  end  that  the  children  in  towns  financially  unable  to  bear  the  entire 
burden  of  schools  therein,  which  in  number  and  quality  would  answer  the  require- 
ments of  law,  might  have  the  educational  advantages  contemplated  and  to  which 
they  were  entitled.  This  object  has  but  partly  been  accomplished.  In  further- 
ance of  the  essential  purpose  to  regulate  the  school  system  so  as  to  afford  all  the 
children  in  the  state  as  nearly  equal  educational  advantages  as  circumstances  m  ill 
reasonably  permit,  regardless  of  the  size  or  financial  ability  of  the  town  or  city  in 
which  they  live,  the  state  should  take  upon  itself  to  a  greater  extent  than  ever 
before,  the  burden  of  the  schools,  and  a  more  extended  and  more  critical  super- 
vision and  control  affecting  every  part  of  the  state. 

The  state  is  vitally  concerned  with  the  proper  enlightenment  of  its  children.  Its 
integrity  and  progress  can  be  insured  only  by  a  system  of  free  public  education  that 
will  reach  all  and  train  them  to  a  knowledge  of  the  life,  conditions,  and  opportunities 
within  the  state.  Those  towns  and  cities  where  wealth  is  concentrated  must,  to  a 
greater  extent  than  heretofore,  bear  a  just  proportion  of  the  burden  of  public  educa- 
tion throughout  the  state,  that  educational  facilities  may  be  uniformly  distributed. 
The  original  conception  of  duty,  the  historic  tendencies,  and  the  common  needs  of 
today  all  point  clearly  to  greater  state  responsibility  and  larger  state  control  in 
public  school  affairs.  This  brings  us  back  to  the  fundamental  right  of  every  child 
to  be  adequately  educated  for  life  and  its  opportunities;  and  the  inherent  respon- 
sibility of  the  state  to  make  sure  provision  for  the  due  and  proper  education  of  all 
its  children. 

Specific  supervision  of  the  common  schools  of  Vermont  was  not  undertaken  until 
1827  when  the  legislature  created  the  first  state  board  of  commissioners  for  common 
schools.  This  board  was  discontinued  in  1833.  Twelve  years  without  super- 
vision having  elapsed,  the  office  of  state  superintendent  of  common  schools  was 
established  in  1845,  it  being  filled  by  appointment  of  the  legislature.  In  1851  the 
legislature  declined  to  appoint  a  state  superintendent  and  for  a  period  of  five  years 
the  state  again  exercised  no  general  supervision  over  its  common  schools;  but  in 
1856  there  was  enacted  a  law  creating  the  state  board  of  education.  This  board 
continued  to  govern  until  1874  when  it  was  abolished  and  the  office  of  state  super- 
intendent of  education  was  substituted  for  it.  From  1874  to  1913,  the  superin- 
tendent of  education,  elected  by  the  legislature,  was  the  responsible  power  to  define 
educational  policies,  formulate  rules  for  their  application  and  to  supervise  methods, 
check  up  results,  and  remedy  errors  in  practice.  The  legislature  of  1912-13  dis- 
continued this  method  and  created  the  existing  board  of  education. 

Vermont's  experience  in  its  administration  and  supervision  of  its  common 
schools  has  been  irregular  and  subject  to  frequent  changes,  tending  to  impair  effi- 
ciency and  obscure  the  worth  and  importance  of  this  necessary  feature  of  an  effec- 


52  AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION 

live  public  school  system.  This  failure  to  assume  definite  and  constant  respon- 
sibility for  inspecting  and  guiding  the  common  schools  as  an  essential  instrument 
of  public  welfare,  has  in  late  years  been  recognized  by  many  thoughtful  citizens, 
and  there  has  been  an  intelligent  and  persistent  effort  made  to  awaken  public  senti- 
ment to  the  needs  of  a  positive  and  constructive  state  policy,  that  shall  provide 
adequate  organization  for  the  administration,  inspection,  and  helpful  supervision 
of  all  common  and  special  schools  within  the  scope  of  the  public  educational  system. 

In  recent  years  the  movement  has  been  strong  in  many  states,  east  and  west, 
toward  the  centering  of  increased  authority  in  state  boards  and  trained  educational 
officers.  This  is  the  response  of  the  public  to  a  quickened  realization  of  state 
responsibility  to  foster  educational  interest  and  activity  through  right  financial  aid, 
in  elementary,  high,  vocational,  and  special  schools;  and  to  exercise  a  wise  and 
salutary  supervision  that  shall  contribute  to  more  uniform  conditions  and  better 
school  advantages. 

As  a  part  of  this  nation-wide  search  for  greater  efficiency  and  more  equal  oppor- 
tunity, the  plan,  once  generally  employed,  of  placing  the  public  schools  of  the 
state  under  the  general  control  of  a  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  elected  by 
the  people  or  chosen  by  the  legislature,  has  given  place  to  the  plan  that  puts  the 
public  school  organization  under  the  general  management  of  a  small  school  board 
appointed  by  the  governor,  with  or  without  legislative  confirmation. 

Vermont  has  had  ample  experience  in  both  methods.  By  enactment  of  its 
present  legislature  it  is  aligned  with  the  most  modern  thought,  and  the  administra- 
tion of  its  public  school  system  is  committed  to  a  board  of  education  composed  of 
five  members  who  are  appointed  by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  senate,  for  the  term,  two  for  two  years,  two  for  four  years,  and  one  for  six  years, 
the  board  to  appoint  a  superintendent  of  education  whose  term  of  office  is  three 
years  and  until  his  successor  is  appointed  and  qualified ;  but  the  partial  and  uncertain 
authority  of  this  board  over  the  different  factors  entering  into  the  efficient  opera- 
tion of  the  state's  educational  system,  makes  a  well  conceived,  definitely  formulated, 
and  effectively  executed  state  educational  policy  difficult  if  not  impossible. 

This  administrative  board  is  the  central  and  authoritative  agent  of  all  of  the 
people  of  the  state.  It  must  be  representative  of  the  whole  and  not  of  a  part. 
It  nmst  stand  for  the  educational  interests  of  all  of  the  state's  children;  and  for  the 
welfare  of  every  factor  contributing  to  the  educational  integrity  and  progress  of 
the  state.  Its  powers  should  be  sufficiently  large  and  its  responsibilities  sufficiently 
great  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  whole  people  within  the  law  pertaining  to  public 
educational  regulation  and  administration.  Its  members  should  be  able,  represen- 
tative, experienced  in  the  affairs  of  life,  familiar  with  conditions  in  Vermont,  and 
free  from  other  connections  making  for  local,  political,  or  institutional  prejudice, 
or  in  any  way  opposed  to  public  welfare  in  its  widest  educational  sense;  but  not 
necessarily  expert  in  educational  principles  and  practice. 

This  board  should  be  made  up  of  laymen  of  eminent  fitness  and  standing,  not 


AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION  53 

otherwise  employed  in  educational  service,  and  who  will  not  allow  political  con- 
siderations to  enter  into  or  influence  the  oflBcial  actions.  Its  membership  should 
not  include  persons  connected  with,  or  representatives  of,  educational  institutions 
or  other  special  educational  interests,  and  there  should  be  no  ex  officio  member. 
The  members  should  serve  without  compensation,  except  that  they  should  be  reim- 
bursed for  their  necessary  expenses  when  engaged  in  the  performance  of  the  duties 
of  the  oflBce. 

A  central  board  of  administration  so  constituted  will  embody  the  truest  and 
wisest  expression  of  personal  service  in  behalf  of  public  good  and  educational  ad- 
vancement; it  will  command  state-wide  trust  and  confidence;  and  membership  in 
it  will  be  regarded  by  the  public  as  evidence  of  eminent  capacity  for  the  services 
to  be  performed.  Yet  to  make  certain  the  high  character  of  the  board  and  to  in- 
sure permanent  effectiveness  of  its  policies,  plans,  and  activities,  the  members 
should  be  subject  to  removal  by  the  Governor  for  cause,  such  as  incompetency, 
failure  to  discharge  duties,  malfeasance,  immorality,  or  other  just  cause  inimical 
to  the  welfare  of  the  public  schools. 

Having  created  a  board  of  education,  composed  of  the  type  of  persons  and  given 
the  powers  as  herein  indicated,  the  state  should  delegate  to  it  the  exclusive  admin- 
istrative government  and  control  of  the  entire  public  school  system;  and  impose 
upon  it  the  duty  of  administrating  this  trust  in  conformity  to  law,  and  to  the  true 
spirit,  intent,  and  meaning  of  the  educational  policy  of  the  state.  The  state  should 
commit  the  administrative  authority  over  the  whole  educational  system  to  this 
central  board,  with  the  right  to  select  and  employ  trained  and  skilful  executive 
officers  competent  to  be  entrusted  to  formulate  educational  plans  in  broad  outline 
and  in  detail;  to  supervise  curricula  for  elementary,  secondary,  vocational,  and 
special  schools  now  existing  or  w^hich  may  hereafter  be  established  under  the  laws 
of  the  state;  to  prepare  courses  of  instruction  to  be  given  in  teacher-training  classes 
in  secondary  schools,  for  the  preparation  of  teachers  for  elementary  schools;  to 
prepare  courses  to  be  given  in  departments  of  institutions  of  higher  learning,  for 
the  preparation  of  teachers  for  secondary  schools  or  for  the  teaching  of  agriculture; 
and  to  administer,  inspect,  and  supervise  the  entire  educational  organization  and 
work,  over  which  the  state  gives  to  the  board  general  administrative  authority. 

It  should  be  the  province  of  the  board  to  supply  sound  judgments,  to  furnish 
wise  counsel,  and  to  stand  as  a  firm  protection  to  the  whole  educational  organiza- 
tion against  influences  either  within  or  without,  harmful  to  its  highest  efficiency. 
It  should  be  the  right  and  duty  of  the  board  to  act  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
operation  of  the  public  school  system  upon  conference  with  its  chief  executive 
officer;  and  to  approve  or  disapprove  recommendations  made  by  him  relating  to 
administrative  policy.  The  board  should  exercise  reasonable  diligence  to  know 
that  its  executive  officers  are  discharging  their  duties  in  a  true  educational  spirit 
and  without  bias  or  influence  from  other  considerations. 

The  effectiveness  and  final  results  of  the  educational  system  will  depend  largely 


54  AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION 

upon  the  character  and  personnel  of  the  board  of  education,  and  the  skill,  capacity, 
and  adaptability  of  the  executive  oflBcers  chosen  by  that  board  to  act  under  it. 
Hence  the  first  and  supreme  function  of  the  board  will  be  to  choose  these  officers  of 
administration.  The  staff  should  consist  of  a  commissioner  of  education  and  at 
least  two  competent  deputies,  who  are  experts  in  various  phases  of  educational 
work,  to  be  in  constant  touch  with  the  superintendents  and  the  teachers,  for  the 
purpose  of  inspection,  advice,  instruction,  encouragement,  and  inspiration. 

The  commissioner  should  be  a  man  "of  such  special  training,  of  such  varied  educa- 
tional experience,"  -with  such  a  record  of  successful  achievement,  and  with  such 
breadth  of  capacity  as  will  qualify  him,  under  the  supervision  and  approval  of  the 
board,  to  formulate  and  execute  the  responsible  duties  connected  with  the  operation 
of  the  school  system,  looking  to  the  best  results.  He  should  be  selected  with  an 
eye  single  to  his  fitness  and  capacity  to  render  large  and  effective  service  to  all  the 
people,  as  the  first  executive  officer  of  the  board.  He  should  serve  for  an  indefinite 
term  and  be  subject  to  dismissal  only  upon  a  four-fifths  vote  of  the  whole  member- 
ship of  the  board;  and  there  should  be  attached  to  the  office  a  salary  to  be  determined 
by  the  board  in  such  an  amount  as  will  secure  and  hold  a  skilful,  efficient,  and  suc- 
cessful man.  The  expert  deputies  to  assist  the  commissioner  and  needed  to  make 
the  school  organization  efficient,  should  be  appointed  by  the  board  upon  the  nomina- 
tion of  the  commissioner  and  removed  upon  his  motion  formally  presented  and 
cause  shown,  and  their  salaries  should  be  fixed  by  the  board. 

The  board,  acting  through  the  commissioner  of  education  and  his  deputies, 
should  have  general  administrative  control  of  the  whole  educational  system  of  the 
state,  including  schools,  departments,  or  classes  provided  by  the  board  for  the 
training  of  teachers  in  any  phases  of  the  educational  work.  Such  oversight  should 
include  the  preparation  of  a  budget  for  educational  expenses;  the  enforcement  of 
laws  relating  to  the  effective  operation  of  the  schools;  the  classification,  unification, 
and  separation  of  schools;  "the  establishment  of  uniform  records  and  reports,  the 
determination  of  the  qualifications  of  teachers  and  their  certification  *  *  *,  and 
the  recognition  of  certificates  and  diplomas  from  other  states;"  the  supervision  of 
the  expenditure  of  all  state  money  for  educational  purposes;  and  the  inspection  of 
all  institutions  receiving  state  money  and  reporting  upon  their  use  of  such  funds. 

The  board  should  establish  a  uniform  system  of  supervision  by  reorganizing  or 
discontinuing  present  supervision  unions,  or  by  creating  new  unions,  to  the  end 
that  all  towns  shall  be  included  in  unions,  and  that  the  number  of  schools  and 
amount  of  work  to  be  performed  in  the  various  unions  shall  be  approximately  equal; 
and  approve  of  union  superintendents,  determine  their  salaries,  discontinue,  trans- 
fer or  promote  them  as  circumstances  may  demand. 

"The  board  in  cooperation  with  the  state  board  of  health,"  or  on  its  approval, 
"should  establish  standards  for  the  construction,  arrangement,  and  sanitary  equip- 
ment of  school  buildings  and  school  sites;  and  should  direct  the  medical  inspection 
and  study  of  public  health  as  far  as  the  schools  are  concerned." 


AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION  55 

The  board  should  adopt  and  provide  for  a  method  by  which  the  people  of  the 
whole  state  may  be  informed  as  to  the  conditions  and  opportunities  of  all  the 
schools  within  the  scope  of  the  system  of  public  instruction ;  and  such  other  educa- 
tional publicity  as  may,  in  the  judgment  of  the  board,  contribute  to  the  enlighten- 
ment and  well-being  of  the  citizens  of  the  state.  It  should  likewise  make  provi- 
sion for  all  proper  educational  gatherings,  institutes,  summer  schools,  etc.,  that 
the  supervising  and  the  teaching  forces  may  have  such  opportunity  for  association, 
instruction,  and  inspiration  as  may  be  necessary  for  a  healthy  and  progressive 
development  of  the  state's  educational  interests. 

This  Commission  recommends,  therefore,  that  the  existing  board  of  education 
be  so  reorganized  as  to  provide  a  board  of  five  members  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
one  member  for  the  term  of  five  years,  one  for  the  term  of  four  years,  one  for  the 
term  of  three  years,  one  for  the  term  of  two  years,  and  one  for  the  term  of  one  year, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  a  term,  the  term  of  oflSce  should  be  five  years;  that  the 
membership  shall  consist  of  laymen  of  the  type  herein  suggested;  that  the  board 
shall  be  given  plenary  administrative  powers,  within  the  law,  over  the  whole  educa- 
tional system  and  organization  of  the  state,  and  be  charged  definitely  with  the 
responsibility  of  providing,  through  a  commissioner  of  education  and  at  least  two 
deputies,  for  the  effective  administration  of  the  educational  policy  of  the  state;  that 
provision  be  made  for  such  compensation  to  the  commissioner  and  his  deputies 
"as  shall  guarantee  the  service  of  a  progressive  educational  leader"  with  competent 
assistants;  that  proper  appropriations  be  made  to  enable  the  board  of  education  to 
carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  law  respecting  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
elementary  and  secondary  schools  throughout  the  state,  and  respecting  all  other 
matters  connected  with,  or  essential  to,  the  efficient  operation  of  such  schools, 
including  the  preparation  of  teachers,  and  supervision  of  schools;  and  for  the  pay- 
ment of  salaries  of  all  officers  and  of  clerical  assistance  employed  by  said  board  in 
connection  with  the  administrative  work  of,  or  under,  the  board,  including  the 
expenses  of  the  board,  and  the  members  thereof;  and  since  all  items  of  cost  can  not 
be  correctly  estimated  in  advance,  that  a  reasonable  sum  of  money  be  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  board  at  the  outset  to  be  accounted  for  subsequently  in  detail  to  the 
state. 


X 

UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  AND  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 

1.  Its  Character — Public  or  Private 

It  has  been  much  urged  on  the  part  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricul- 
tural College,  that  it  is  a  state  university,  that  is,  a  public,  not  a  private,  corporation, 
and  therefore  entitled  as  a  matter  of  right  to  state  support.  This  question  so  bears 
on  the  rights,  duties,  and  obligations  of  that  institution,  which  it  is,  by  statute,  the 
duty  of  this  Commission  to  determine,  as  to  require  a  careful  examination  of  the 
character  (that  is,  whether  public  or  private)  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  the 
Vermont  Agricultural  College,  two  pre-existing  corporations  which  united  in  form- 
ing the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  held  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  state  (in  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  against 
Baxter's  Estate,  found  in  42d  of  Vermont  Reports,  page  99,)  to  be  a  new  corpora- 
tion. This  constitutes  our  justification  for  the  space  given  to  these  matters  in  this 
report. 

The  president  of  the  last  named  institution,  delivering  an  address  before  the 
Commission,  said: — 

"The  University  of  Vermont  has  been  from  the  beginning  of  its  existence  a  State 
University.  The  facts  of  history  are  full  and  sufiicient  demonstration  of  this  pro- 
position. The  university  is  the  only  institution  of  this  type  in  Vermont  and,  there- 
fore, claims  its  right  as  the  culmination  and  consummation  of  the  public  school 
system  to  serve  this  state  in  the  same  way  that  institutions  of  similar  character 
serve  their  several  states." 

It  should  be  here  stated  that  a  corporation  is  a  creature  of  the  state  granting  its 
charter,  endowed  with  such  faculties  as  the  state  bestows  and  subject  to  such  con- 
ditions as  the  state  imposes,  and  if  the  power  to  modify  the  charter  is  reserved,  the 
reservation  is  a  part  of  the  contract;  and  the  highest  court  in  this  state  has  said, 
"that  such  a  reservation  affects  the  entire  relation  between  the  state  and  the  cor- 
poration, and  places  under  legislative  control  all  rights,  privileges,  and  imnmnities 
derived  by  its  charter  directly  from  the  state,  including  its  very  existence;  but  that 
rights  and  interests  acquired  by  the  corporation,  not  constituting  a  part  of  the  con- 
tract of  incorporation,  and  so  not  derived  directly  from  the  state,  stand  on  a  differ- 
ent footing,  and  are  not  thereby  subjected  to  legislative  contract."  Lawrence  v. 
Rutland  Railroad  Co.,  80  Vt.  370. 

In  connection  with  our  discussion  of  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  we 
quote  sections  40  and  41  of.  chapter  II  of  the  Constitution  of  1777,  showing  that  the 
former  section,  after  requiring  the  establishment  of  a  school  or  schools  in  each  town 
by  the  legislature,  declared  that  "One  Grammar  School  in  each  County,  and  one 
University  in  this  State,  ought  to  be  established  by  Direction  of  the  General 
Assembly;"  and  the  latter  section,  among  other  things,  declares,  "And  all  religious 


ITS  CHARACTER  57 

Societies,  or  bodies  of  men,  that  have,  or  may  be  hereafter  united  and  incorporated, 
for  the  Advancement  of  RcHgion  and  Learning,  or  for  other  pious  and  charitable 
purposes,  shall  be  encouraged  and  protected  in  the  Enjoyment  of  the  Privileges 
Immunities  and  Estates,  which  they  in  justice  ought  to  enjoy,  under  such  Regula- 
tions as  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State  shall  direct."  We  also  quote  from  the 
Constitution  of  1786,  showing  that  the  provisions  of  the  above  mentioned  sections 
40  and  41,  so  far  as  retained,  were  united  to  form  section  38,  of  chapter  II,  in  the 
new  Constitution;  that  said  section  38,  after  the  clause  requiring  the  maintenance 
of  schools  in  each  town,  declares:  "and  one  or  more  grammar  schools  be  incorporated, 
and  properly  supported,  in  each  county  in  this  State.  And  all  religious  societies, 
or  bodies  of  men,  that  may  be  hereafter  united  or  incorporated,  for  the  advancement 
of  religion  and  learning,  or  for  other  pious  and  charitable  purposes,  shall  be  en- 
couraged and  protected,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  privileges,  immunities,  and 
estates,  which  they  in  justice  ought  to  enjoy,  under  such  regulations  as  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  State  shall  direct."  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  provision  contained 
in  the  earlier  Constitution  that  county  grammar  schools  "ought  to  be  established 
by  Direction  of  the  General  Assembly,"  was  changied  so  as  to  read  that  they  "be 
incorporated,  and  properly  supported."  In  other  words,  the  public  character  of 
these  schools  contemplated  by  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  1777,  was 
neither  contemplated  nor  required  by  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  1786. 
The  provision  in  the  earher  Constitution  that  "one  University  in  this  State,  ought 
to  be  established  by  Direction  of  the  General  Assembly,"  was  not  carried  into  the 
Constitution  of  1786,  and  has  not  since  the  adoption  of  that  Constitution  been  any 
part  of  the  organic  law  of  the  state.  This  Constitution  contained  no  provision 
looking  to  the  establishment  of  a  university  by  the  state.  The  only  declaration 
therein  that  can  fairly  be  said  to  comprehend  an  institution  of  higher  learning  is, 
that  "all  religious  societies,  or  bodies  of  men,  that  may  be  hereafter  united  or  in- 
corporated, for  the  advancement  of  religion  and  learning,  or  for  other  pious  and 
charitable  purposes,  shall  be  encouraged  and  protected,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
privileges,  immunities,  and  estates,  which  they  in  justice  ought  to  enjoy,  under  such 
regulations  as  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State  shall  direct."  The  extent  of  this 
provision  (so  far  as  need  be  noticed)  is,  that  institutions  for  the  advancement  of 
religion  and  learning  "shall  be  encouraged  and  protected,"  as  therein  specified. 
Exclusive  of  the  land  specifically  granted  for  the  benefit  of  Dartmouth  College, 
there  were  in  nearly  every  town  charter  granted  by  the  State  of  Vermont,  rights 
reserved  to  several  public  uses  therein  named,  one  of  which  rights  (quoting  from 
what  seems  to  be  a  typical  charter  in  this  respect)  was  "for  the  use  of  a  seminary 
or  college,"  and  one  "for  the  use  of  county  grammar  schools  within  said  state," 
which  said  two  rights  "for  the  use  of  a  seminary  or  college,  and  for  the  use  of  county 
grammar  schools,  as  aforesaid,  and  the  improvements,  rents,  interests,  and  profits 
arising  therefrom,  shall  be  under  the  control,  order,  direction  and  disposal  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  said  state,  forever." 


58  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  in  1785,  Elijah  Paine  of  Williamstown  presented  a 
memorial  to  the  legislature,  proposing  the  donation  of  two  thousand  pounds  towards 
a  college  or  university,  on  certain  conditions,  one  of  which  was  that  said  college 
or  university  be  in  the  township  of  Williamstown.  The  matter  of  this  offer  ran 
along  without  receiving  consideration  by  that  body.  At  the  session  of  the  legis- 
lature in  1789,  Ira  Allen  presented  a  memorial  for  a  college,  from  which  we  quote 
the  following : 

"Having  Honorable  views  toward  the  Public,  and  having  a  desire  to  make  the 
Place  I  have  chosen  for  my  residence  Respectable  by  the  establishment  of  Liberal 
Arts  &  Sciences,  I  therefore  name  Burlington  for  that  purpose, 


"That  so  great  an  object  may  soon  be  affected,  I  offer  to  the  Public  four  thousand 
pounds  on  the  following  conditions  (viz)  that  the  Legislature  *  *  *  Establish  the 
place  for  erecting  a  College  in  this  State  at  or  within  two  miles  of  Burlington  Bay 
in  the  County  of  Chittenden  and  appoint  Trustees  for  the  same — 

"I  bind  myself  my  Heirs  Executors  and  administrators  firmly  by  these  Presents, 
to  pay  to  the  Trustees  of  sd  College  the  sd  sum  of  four  thousand  Pounds,  one 
Thousand  of  which  is  to  be  paid  in  a  proper  square  of  Lands  sufficient  to  Erect  all 
the  Public  buildings  on,  to  form  a  handsome  Green  and  convenient  gardens  for  the 
officers  of  College,  the  Price  of  this  tract  of  Land  to  be  estimated  by  the  major  part 
of  sd  Trustees  and  the  remaining  part  of  sd  Thousand  pounds  is  to  be  paid  to  sd 
Trustees  in  provisions,  materials  and  Labor  in  Erecting  the  Public  Buildings,  the 
remaining  three  Thousand  pounds  to  be  Paid  to  the  sd  Trustees  in  New  Lands  that 
will  rent  in  produce,  that  is  Wheat,  Beef,  Pork,  Butter  or  Cheese  Payable  to  the 
Trustees  of  sd  College  for  the  annual  Interest  at  six  Percent  of  sd  Three  Thousand 
pounds — " 

In  connection  therewith  he,  Ira  Allen,  presented  subscriptions  from  sundry  other 
individuals  for  the  same  purpose,  to  the  amount  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  fifty 
pounds,  making  a  total  of  five  thousand  six  hundred  fifty  pounds.  It  is  said  in  a 
note  to  an  Historical  Discourse  delivered  by  Rev.  John  W' heeler,  D.  D.,  President 
of  the  University  of  Vermont  from  1833  to  1849,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Semi- 
centennial Anniversary  of  that  institution,  that  these  various  subscriptions  from 
other  individuals  "are  in  his  (Ira  Allen's)  handwriting,  and  were  all  obtained  by  his 
active  and  personal  attention  to  the  business." 

Thereupon  such  steps  were  taken  that  an  act  incorporating  the  University  of 
Vermont  was  passed  November  3,  1791. 

This  act  declared  that  the  Governor  of  this  state,  the  speaker  of  the  house  of 
representatives  for  the  time  being,  and  the  president  of  the  university  when  elected, 
should  be  ex  officio  trustees,  and  together  with  the  ten  other  men  named,  (one  of 
whom  was  Ira  Allen,)  and  such  others  as  should  be  appointed  in  manner  and  to  the 


ITS  CHARACTER  59 

number  thereinafter  directed,  should  form  and  constitute  the  board  of  trustees  for 
the  said  institution,  to  be  known  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  Corporation  of  the 
University  of  Vermont.  The  said  corporation  and  their  successors  in  office  were 
constituted  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  with  the  usual  corporate  privileges  and 
powers,  including  self  perpetuation;  and  with  full  power  to  take  by  gift,  grant,  pur- 
chase, or  devise,  any  estate  whether  real  or  personal,  for  the  use  of  the  said  univer- 
sity, "and  to  take  charge  of,  lease,  rent,  and  improve  to  the  best  advantage,  all  such 
grants  as  have  been  already  made  by  the  authority  of  this  state,  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  a  college,"  and  also  to  receive  and  appropriate  such  donations  as  had 
been,  or  thereafter  should  be  made,  for  the  use  of  the  institution. 

The  charter  as  granted  does  not  show  that  the  University  of  Vermont,  in  its 
establishment,  received  any  property  from  the  state,  beyond  what  arises,  if  any, 
from  the  phrase  above  quoted,  fairly  and  properly  construed. 

The  facts  show  that  the  charter  of  that  corporation  was  granted  at  the  instance 
of  Ira  Allen,  and  that  the  public  buildings  of  the  institution  were  erected  on  land  of 
his  gift,  and  designated  by  him,  as  before  seen,  for  that  purpose. 

Who  was  the  ferficient  founder  of  this  institution?  is  an  important  question. 
The  circumstances  previously  existing  are  not  only  interesting,  they  are  instructive 
in  reaching  right  conclusions.  When  Elijah  Paine  made  his  offer  aforementioned 
toward  a  college  or  university  to  be  located  at  Wilhamstown,  the  Constitution  of 
1777,  requiring  one  university  to  be  established  by  direction  of  the  General  Assembly 
as  a  part  of  the  public  school  system  of  the  state,  was  in  force.  Thompson  (in 
his  History  of  Vermont,  Part  2,  page  145)  says  the  subject  of  this  offer  was  post- 
poned, "and  the  legislature  could  not  be  brought  to  take  the  matter  into  serious 
consideration  till  the  October  session  in  1789."  Whether  the  delay  originally  was 
in  anticipation  of  a  change  in  the  Constitution,  we  need  not  conjecture.  In  the 
minds  of  some  who  have  given  the  matter  more  or  less  study,  the  reason  for  the 
change  seems  enveloped  in  mystery.  The  reason  is  of  little  moment  here,  except 
as  it  may  shed  light  upon  subsequent  actions  and  events.  As  viewed  by  the  Com- 
mission, the  most  cogent  reason  is  found  in  the  conditions  and  the  economic  neces- 
sities of  the  people  in  the  state.  Under  the  Constitution  of  1777,  the  public  school 
system  included  town  schools,  county  grammar  schools,  and  a  state  university. 
The  section  relating  thereto  was  entirely  rewritten  in  the  revision  of  the  Constitu- 
tion in  1786,  eliminating  the  element  that  seems  to  have  placed  upon  each  town  the 
burden  of  maintaining  the  schools  established  therein,  making  proper  use  of  school 
lands;  leaving  county  grammar  schools  to  be  incorporated  and  properly  supported, 
hke  academies,  as  private  institutions;  and  dropping  out  altogether  the  provision 
pertaining  to  the  establishment  of  a  state  university. 

Only  a  little  more  than  half  of  the  five  years  immediately  follow  ing  the  signing 
of  the  definitive  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  (called  by  John 
Fiske  in  his  book  entitled,  "The  Critical  Period  of  American  History,"  page  55, 
"the  most  critical  moment  in  all  the  history  of  the  American  people,")  had  elapsed. 


60  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

Though  Vermont  w  as  then  an  independent  state,  she  had  not  only  fought  against 
the  mother  country  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  but  she  was  being  sorely  troubled 
by  New  York,  a  condition  threatening  the  homes,  property,  and  prosperity  of  her 
people,  destined  to  continue  for  some  time  to  come  and  to  be  the  chief  obstruction 
to  her  admission  into  the  Union.  She  was  not  admitted  until  February  18,  1791 
less  than  nine  months  before  the  charter  of  the  University  of  Vermont.  Let  us 
quote  from  Thompson's  History  of  Vermont:  (Part  2,  page  79). 

"The  condition  of  Vermont  at  this  period  (years  immediately  following  the  end 
of  the  war),  was  much  better  than  that  of  the  confederated  states.  She  had 
managed  to  pay  her  own  troops  during  the  war,  by  the  avails  of  her  public  lands 
and  other  means,  and  having  no  connection  with  Congress,  no  part  of  the  burden 
of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States  rested  on  her.  But  she  was  not  equallj'^ 
exempt  from  the  other  causes  of  dissatisfaction,  which  operated  in  the  confeder- 
ated states.  Many  of  the  people,  though  possessed  of  houses  and  lands,  were,  in 
other  respects,  in  low  and  straitened  circumstances  and  so  much  incumbered  with 
debts,  that  their  immediate  payment  in  the  presents  scarcity  of  money,  would 
require  the  sacrifice  of  all  they  had,  and  reduce  themselves  and  families  to  a  state 
of  penury  and  starvation.  Thus  situated,  it  is  not  surprising,  that  the  spirit  of 
opposition  to  the  judicial  authority,  which  had  manifested  itself  in  the  neighboring 
states,  should  make  its  appearance  in  Vermont. 

"So  early  as  the  spring  of  1784,  a  convention  from  several  towns  was  assembled 
at  Wells,  by  which  sundry  resolutions  were  passed  in  relation  to  the  general  suffer- 
ings and  embarrassments  of  the  people,  and  a  liberal  amount  of  execration  was  meted 
out  to  the  lawyers  and  sheriffs,  but  no  disposition  was  manifested  in  this  state  to 
oppose  the  collection  of  debts  by  force  till  the  year  1786.  During  the  summer  of 
this  year,  the  sufferings  of  the  people  becoming  severe  and  their  complaints  loud, 
on  account  of  the  extreme  scarcity  of  money,  Governor  Chittenden  in  the  month 
of  August  published  an  address  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  state,  which  was  evidently 
dictated  by  a  paternal  regard  to  their  welfare  and  happiness.  In  this  address  he 
earnestly  exhorts  the  people  to  be  industrious  and  economical — to  avoid  as  much  as 
possible  the  purchase  of  foreign  productions,  and  to  give  their  attention  to  the 
raising  of  flax  and  wool,  and  the  various  necessaries  for  food  and  clothing;  and  he 
expresses  the  anxious  hope  that  by  their  prudence  and  diligence — by  their  mutual 
forbearance  and  kindness — together  with  such  assistance  as  the  legislature  should, 
at  its  next  session,  be  able  to  afford, — their  sufferings  would  be  brought  to  a  speedy 
termination,  and  themselves  become  a  prosperous  and  happy  people. 

"In  October,  the  legislature  met  at  Rutland,  and  measures,  designed  to  relieve 
the  pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the  people,  occupied  a  large  share  of  the  session. 
*  *  *  But  these  several  acts  and  resolutions  did  not  serve  to  quiet  all  the  people; 
for  there  were  many  who  did  not  intend  to  be  compelled  to  pay  their  debts  in  any 
way,  and  they  judged  it  the  shortest  method  of  avoiding  payments  to  prevent  the 
.sitting  of  the  courts,  in  which  judgments  and  executions  might  ])e  obtained  against 


ITS  CHARACTER  61 

them;  and  two  attempts  of  this  kind  were  made  shortly  after  the  session  of  the 
legislature  at  which  the  above  acts  and  resolutions  were  passed,  one  in  the  county 
of  Windsor,  and  the  other  in  the  county  of  Rutland." 

In  speaking  of  the  education  of  the  early  settlers  of  Vermont,  Thompson  says 
(Part  2,  page  141):  "Few  of  the  early  settlers  of  Vermont  enjoyed  any  other  ad- 
vantages of  education  than  a  few  months'  attendance  at  primary  schools,  as  they 
existed  in  New  England  previous  to  the  revolution.  But  these  advantages  had 
been  so  well  improved,  that  nearly  all  of  them  were  able  to  read,  and  write  a  legible 
hand,  and  had  acquired  sufficient  knowledge  of  arithmetic  for  the  transaction  of 
ordinary  business.  They  were,  in  general,  men  of  strong  and  penetrating  minds, 
and,  clearly  perceiving  the  numerous  advantages,  which  education  confers,  they 
early  directed  their  attention  to  the  establishment  of  schools.  But  for  many  years 
there  were  obstacles,  in  addition  to  those  incident  to  all  new  settlements,  which 
prevented  much  being  done  for  the  cause  of  education.  The  controversies  in  which 
they  were  involved  and  the  war  of  the  revolution,  both  of  which  threatened  the 
annihilation  of  Vermont  as  an  independent  state,  and  the  ruin  of  many  of  the 
settlers  by  robbing  them  of  their  farms,  employed  nearly  all  their  thoughts  and  all 
their  energies,  previous  to  their  admission  into  the  federal  union." 

At  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  October,  1781,  an  Act  was  passed  enabling  the 
inhabitants  of  the  several  towns  within  the  state  to  levy  on  the  lands  therein  such 
tax  or  taxes  as  they  should  agree  to,  not  exceeding,  in  the  whole,  two  pence  per  acre, 
for  the  purpose,  among  other  things,  of  building  school  houses.  This  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  enactment  in  this  state  authorizing  the  laying  of  taxes  for  purposes 
pertaining  to  public  education.  At  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  October,  1782, 
a  general  law  was  passed,  providing  for  the  division  of  towns  into  convenient  school 
districts,  and  for  the  appointment  of  trustees  in  each  town  for  the  general  super- 
intendence of  the  schools,  and  to  have  charge  of  any  property  or  funds  held  by  the 
town  for  the  purposes  of  town  schools,  and  to  render  an  account  of  their  doings,  to 
the  town,  as  often  as  required.  The  Act  further  provided  for  the  election  of  a 
prudential  committee  by  the  inhabitants  of  each  district,  which  committee  was 
empowered  to  raise  one-half  the  money  necessary  for  building  and  repairing  a  school 
house  and  supporting  a  school,  by  a  tax  assessed  on  the  grand  list,  and  the  other 
half,  either  on  the  list  or  on  the  polls  of  the  scholars,  as  should  be  directed  by  a  vote 
of  the  district.  By  the  same  Act  the  judges  of  the  county  courts,  in  their  respective 
counties,  were  empowered  to  appoint  trustees  of  county  schools,  v.ho  should  have 
the  same  powers  in  all  matters  relating  to  their  trust,  as  trustees  of  town  schools, 
and  should  in  like  manner,  be  accountable  to  the  judges  by  whom  they  were  respec- 
tively appointed.  And  said  judges,  calling  to  their  assistance  the  justices  of  peace 
in  their  several  counties,  were  given  the  power  to  lay  a  tax  on  the  same  "for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  county  school  house.  To  be  collected  by  warrant  by  the 
state  treasurer  in  the  same  manner  as  state  taxes  are." 

Thompson  says,  (page  141)  "The  part  of  this  plan  relating  to  county  schools 


62  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

seems  never  to  have  been  carried  into  effect;  but  that  in  relation  to  town  schools, 
was  gradually  introduced  and  improved,  till  schools,  w  hich  may  be  called  free,  were 
established  in  all  the  organized  towns  in  the  state." 

An  examination  of  the  early  statutes  shows,  that  so  much  of  the  law  of  the  said 
Act  of  1782,  as  related  to  county  schools  and  laying  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  building 
county  school  houses,  continued  in  force  until  the  rising  of  the  February  session  of 
the  legislature,  1787;  that  an  Act  establishing  the  Constitution  of  1786  as  the  Con- 
stitution of  Vermont,  was  passed  March  3,  1787;  and  that  "An  Act  for  Appointing 
and  Supporting  Schools,"  was  passed  March  8,  1787,  one  clause  of  which  reads, 
"And  the  Judges  of  the  County  Courts,  in  their  respective  counties,  shall  have 
power  to  appoint  Trustees  of  county  schools,  who  shall  have  the  same  powers,  in  all 
matters  relating  to  their  trust,  as  Trustees  of  town  schools,  and  shall  be  in  like 
manner  accountable  to  the  Judges  by  whom  they  were  respectively  appointed," 
But  it  did  not  authorize  the  laying  of  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  building  county 
school  houses. 

The  county  schools  referred  to  in  the  Act  of  1782,  and  also  in  this  Act  of  1787, 
must  have  been  the  county  grammar  schools  mentioned  in  the  Constitution.  What 
action  on  the  part  of  the  state,  in  addition  to  that  of  changing  the  Constitution 
itself,  could  be  more  indicative  of  a  purpose  to  change  the  educational  policy  of  the 
state  than  the  facts,  that  during  the  existence  of  the  first  Constitution,  when  county 
grammar  schools  were  a  part  of  the  public  school  system  and  there  existed  a  statute 
permitting  the  assessment  of  a  tax  for  the  building  of  county  school  houses  for  such 
schools,  the  law  was  never  carried  into  effect;  that  when  the  Constitution  was 
changed,  excluding  from  the  public  school  system  county  grammar  schools  and  a 
state  university,  the  statute  permitting  the  laying  of  a  tax  to  build  county  school 
houses,  was  no  longer  retained  in  force;  and  that  thereafter  (the  first,  in  October, 
1787,)  county  grammar  schools  were  incorporated  in  nearly  or  quite  all  of  the  differ- 
ent counties  in  the  state,  severally  supported  by  grants  from  the  legislature  of  the 
use  and  benefit  of  grammar  school  lands  in  counties  where  such  lands  exist — all, 
like  academies,  private  institutions,  for  the  maintenance  of  which,  so  far  as  the 
Commission  is  aware,  there  has  never  been  a  law  permitting  a  tax  to  be  laid.  Is 
it  not  reasonable  to  say,  therefore,  that  the  change  in  the  Constitution  marked  a 
change  in  public  policy  consequent  on  the  conditions  and  economic  necessities  of 
the  people? 

It  is  said  by  Mr.  Justice  Story  in  the  great  case  of  Dartmouth  College  against 
Woodward,  reported  in  the  4th  of  Wheaton,  page  518,  that  what  is  deemed  a 
foundation,  and  who  is  the  founder,  cannot  be  stated  with  more  brevity  and  exact- 
ness than  in  the  language  of  Sir  William  Blackstone  in  his  Commentaries  on  the 
Laws  of  England,  and  he  quoted  from  Book  1,  page  480,  as  follows: 

"The  founder  of  all  corporations,  in  the  strictest  and  original  sense,  is  the 
king  alone,  for  he  only  can  incorporate  a  society;  and  in  civil  incorporations,  such 
as  mayor  and  commonalty,  etc.,  where  there  are  no  possessions  or  endowments 


ITS  CHARACTER  63 

given  to  the  body,  there  is  no  other  founder  but  the  king;  but  in  eleemosynary 
foundations  such  as  colleges  and  hospitals,  where  there  is  an  endowment  of  lands, 
the  law  distinguishes,  and  makes  two  species  of  foundation;  the  one  fundatio  inci- 
piens,  or  the  incorporation,  in  which  sense  the  king  is  the  general  founder  of  all 
colleges,  and  hospitals;  the  other  fundatio  perficiens,  or  the  dotation  of  it,  in  which 
sense  the  first  gift  of  the  revenues  is  the  foundation,  and  he  who  gives  them  is  in 
law  the  founder:  and  it  is  in  this  last  sense  that  we  generally  call  a  man  the  founder 
of  a  college  or  hospital."  It  has  been  held  in  England,  by  the  Privy  Council  (In 
the  Matter  of  the  Endowed  Schools  Act,  and  In  the  Matter  of  the  St.  Leonard, 
Shoreditch,  Parochial  Schools,  found  in  10th  Appeal  Cases,  page  304),  that  where 
a  charity  is  established  by  subscriptions,  the  original  subscribers  alone  are  the 
founders;  but  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  attribute  this  character  to  those  who 
come  after  them,  whether  they  contribute  to  the  building  fund  or  any  other  fund 
in  aid  of  the  existing  charity  or  not;  that  it  is  reasonably  plain  that  when  a  foun- 
dation be  once  started,  though  by  small  beginnings,  everything  afterwards  added, 
which  is  not  an  endowment  for  a  new  and  special  purpose,  must  be  taken  to  be 
upon  the  footing  of  the  original  foundation. 

At  the  time  Ira  Allen  presented  his  memorial  for  a  college  at  Burlington  he 
was  38  years  old.  Since  before  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1777  he  had 
been  preeminently  active  in  civil,  military,  and  diplomatic  affairs  of  the  state, 
and  had  become  probably  the  wealthiest  man  in  the  state,  having  landed  estate 
lying  mostly  along  the  lake  of  over  200,000  acres,  some  of  which  was  in  Burlington. 
Being  thus  prominent  and  financially  able,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  should  think 
of  founding  a  college  in  Burlington,  the  town  of  his  future  residence,  and  for  that 
purpose  offer  to  give  four  thousand  pounds,  specifying  in  the  original  instrument  of 
endowment  that  one  thousand  of  it  "is  to  be  paid  in  a  proper  square  of  Lands  to 
Erect  all  the  Public  buildings  on,  to  form  a  handsome  Green  and  convenient  gardens 
for  the  oflficers  of  College,  *  *  *"  One  comprehends  the  munificence  of  this  gift 
when  one  considers  that  (in  the  language  of  Professor  John  Ellsworth  Goodrich, 
in  the  "Centennial  Oration,"  delivered  Commencement  Day,  June  29,  1892,  on 
"The  Life  and  Public  Services  of  General  Ira  Allen,")  "Harvard  College  rests 
upon  an  original  appropriation  by  the  colony  of  but  four  hundred  pounds,  and  its 
name  is  a  magnificent  monument  to  the  man  by  whose  will  it  received  some  eight 
hundred  pounds  and  a  small  library";  and  (in  the  language  of  Robert  D.  Benedict, 
in  an  oration  delivered  upon  the  Centennial  Anniversary,  June  24,  1891,)  "The 
largest  donation  received  by  Harvard,  up  to  1836,  was  only  half  as  large." 

In  the  same  connection  Mr.  Benedict  further  says  concerning  the  gift  of  Ira 
Allen  and  the  University  of  Vermont:  "His  subscription  was  by  far  the  largest  part 
of  all  the  subscriptions;  and  the  subscriptions  were  substantially  the  only  founda- 
tion of  the  university.  The  legislature  in  granting  the  charter  did  indeed  give  to 
it  the  lands  which  had  been  reserved  in  the  various  township  grants  for  the  use 
and  benefit  of  a  college,  which  amounted  to  a  little  more  than  had  been  granted 


64  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

to  Dartmouth  College.  But  these  grants  were  of  little  avail  for  the  expenses  of 
beginning.  *  *  * 

"As  I  have  said,  the  legislative  grant  of  lands  was  of  little  avail  at  first.  It 
was  stated  in  a  report  made  by  the  trustees  to  the  Legislature  in  1804,  that  the  total 
amount  of  money  which  they  had  actually  received  from  these  lands  granted  by 
the  Legislature  had  been  $79.42,  or  about  $7  a  year  for  the  thirteen  years  which 
had  passed  since  the  charter  was  granted. 

"The  university  was,  therefore,  put  in  motion  with  funds  contributed  by  indi- 
vidual citizens,  and  the  subscription  of  Ira  Allen  may  be  well  considered  its  corner 
stone.  *  *  *" 

The  views  expressed  by  Mr.  Goodrich,  an  honorable,  able,  and  efficient  pro- 
fessor in  the  university  for  many  years,  and  now  a  professor  emeritus,  are  even 
more  emphatic  in  the  same  direction.  In  his  oration,  from  which  we  have  already 
quoted,  he  further  said: 

"The  founding  of  the  University  of  Vermont  was  but  an  incident,  albeit  a 
most  important  one,  in  Allen's  contribution  toward  the  building  of  the  State. 
His  sagacious  mind  clearly  discerned  the  true  relations  between  education  on  the 
one  hand,  and  patriotism  and  politics  on  the  other.  A  complete  intellectual  inde- 
pendence would  tend  to  strengthen  and  consolidate  that  moral  and  political  inde- 
pendence which  should  characterize  a  self-governing  community. 


"Allen  selected  as  a  location  for  the  future  L^niversity  a  lot  of  50  acres,  one  of 
the  sightliest  in  all  the  Champlain  Valley.  Portions  of  it  were  alienated  in  the 
early  days  from  time  to  time  for  reasons  which  one  can  recall  only  with  mingled 
sorrow  and  indignation,  until  only  an  acre  and  a  half  remained. 

"One  of  the  reasons  which  in  1797  Allen  urges  for  the  speedy  determination 
of  his  suit  before  the  Admiralty  Court,  (in  England,)  was  his  desire  to  'erect  public 
buildings  for  the  University  of  Vermont,'  the  materials  for  which  he  had  already 
caused  to  be  prepared.  'These  are  kept,'  he  says,  'in  a  state  of  ruinous  suspense 
by  my  absence.' 


"If  I  venture  to  suggest  to  the  honorable  board  of  trustees  the  propriety  of 
ordaining  that  from  this  time  forward,  the  first  of  May,  the  natal  day  of  Ira  Allen, 
shall  be  set  in  the  calendar  of  the  University  of  Vermont  as  Founder's  Day,  to 
be  observed  as  a  holiday  forever,  significant  at  once  of  her  origin,  and  of  the  new 
life  pulsing  continually  in  her  veins  of  perennial  and  ever  bourgeoning  prime,  I 
have  small  fear  that  any  alumnus  will  enter  his  protest  against  the  innovation,  or 
that  the  under-graduate  body  will  petition  against  such  use  of  one  day  in  the  year 
in  grateful  recognition  of  our  debt  to  our  earliest  benefactor." 


ITS  CHARACTER  65 

This  suggestion  of  Professor  Goodrich  seems  to  have  been  acted  upon  by  the 
board  of  trustees  at  their  next  annual  meeting,  June  27,  1893.  The  records  of 
that  meeting  contain  the  following:  "On  motion  it  was  voted  that  the  faculty  be 
instructed  to  arrange,  in  their  discretion,  for  the  due  observance  of  Founder's  Day." 
And  the  current  number  of  its  catalogue,  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State 
Agricultural  College  refers  to  Ira  Allen  as  "the  founder  of  the  university." 

In  addition  thereto,  the  Commission  understands  that  in  accordance  with  the 
suggestion  of  Professor  Goodrich  and  pursuant  to  said  vote,  "Founder's  Day" 
has  hitherto  been  annually  observed. 

Notwithstanding  this,  it  is  said  in  a  brief,  presented  to  the  Commission  by 
the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  that  the  offer  of  Ira 
Allen  in  his  memorial  is  to  give  the  sum  named  "to  the  public;"  and  that  he  under- 
stood that  the  university  was  to  be  a  state  institution,  is  thus  established.  A  fair 
construction  of  the  words  named  can  be  had  only  by  viewing  the  whole  instrument. 
In  a  previous  paragraph.  General  Allen  says:  "Having  Honorable  views  toward 
the  Public,  and  having  a  desire  to  make  the  Place  I  have  chosen  for  my  residence 
Respectable  by  the  establishment  of  Liberal  Arts  &  Sciences,  I  therefore  name 
Burlington  for  that  purpose,  *  *  * 

"That  so  great  an  object  may  soon  be  affected,  I  offer  to  the  Public  four  thou- 
sand pounds  on  the  following  conditions  *  *  * 

"I  bind  myself  my  Heirs  Executors  and  administrators  firmly  by  these  Presents, 
to  pay  to  the  Trustees  of  sd  College  the  sd  sum  of  four  thousand  Pounds,"  etc. 

In  the  Dartmouth  College  case  counsel  for  the  defendant  insisted  that  the  bene- 
ficial interest  in  the  property  given  to  that  institution  was  in  the  people  of  New 
Hampshire.  There  the  charter  runs  thus:  "Know  ye  therefore,  that  we,  consider- 
ing the  premises,  and  being  willing  to  encourage  the  laudable  and  charitable  design 
of  spreading  christian  knowledge,  *  *  *  and  also  that  the  best  means  of  education 
be  established,  in  our  province  of  New-Hampshire,  for  the  benefit  of  said  province, 
do  of  our  special  grace,"  etc.  Thereupon  Chief  Justice  Marshall  said:  "Do  these 
expressions  bestow  on  New-Hampshire  any  exclusive  right  to  the  property  of  the 
college,  any  exclusive  interest  in  the  labors  of  the  professors.'*  Or  do  they  merely 
indicate  a  willingness,  that  New-Hampshire  should  enjoy  those  advantages,  which 
result  to  all  from  the  establishment  of  a  seminary  of  learning  in  the  neighborhood? 
On  this  point  we  think  it  impossible  to  entertain  a  serious  doubt.  The  words 
themselves,  unexplained  by  the  context,  indicate,  that  the  'benefit  intended  for 
the  province'  is  that,  which  is  derived  from  'establishing  the  best  means  of  educa- 
tion therein;'  that  is,  from  estabhshing  in  the  province  Dartmouth  College,  as  con- 
stituted by  the  charter." 

The  words  "for  the  benefit  of  said  province,"  there  used,  are  stronger  looking 
toward  a  public  institution  in  the  legal  sense  than  the  words  of  Ira  Allen,  "to  the 
public."  It  is  very  apparent  that  he  used  the  word  "public,"  as  he  did  in  the 
first  paragraph  quoted,  in  its  popular  sense,  for  the  establishment  of  a  college  at 


66  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

Burlington,  not  as  a  strictly  public  institution,  but  as  an  institution  which  should 
inure  to  the  public  good,  by  the  general  promotion  of  learning.  It  is  said  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  this  state  (in  Franklin  County  Grammar  School  against  Bailey, 
found  in  62d  of  Vermont  Reports,  page  467,  and  quoting  from  the  Dartmouth 
College  case,)  "  'The  objects  for  which  a  corporation  is  created  are  universally  such 
as  the  government  wishes  to  promote.  They  are  deemed  beneficial  to  the  country; 
and  this  constitutes  the  consideration  of  the  grant.'  " 

The  obligation  is  contained  in  the  next  paragraph,  and  it  is,  "I  bind  myself 
*  *  *,  to  pay  to  the  trustees  of  sd  College,  the  sd  sum,"  etc. 

It  is  further  said  in  the  same  brief  that  by  the  charter  of  the  University  of  Ver- 
mont, lands  were  granted  by  the  state  to  that  corporation,  and  hence  the  foundation 
was  public,  and  the  fact  that  Ira  Allen  contributed  to  the  foundation  does  not 
affect  its  character;  that  "it  was  the  established  principle  of  the  common  law  that 
if  the  King  and  a  private  individual  joined  in  endowing  a  charitable  corporation, 
the  King  alone  was  the  founder  thereof." 

This  position  taken  in  the  brief  requires  careful  examination  along  the  lines 
there  indicated.  It  will  be  called  to  mind  that  in  the  granting  of  the  charter  of  the 
University  of  Vermont,  that  corporation  was  given  full  power  "to  take  charge  of, 
lease,  rent,  and  improve  to  the  best  advantage,  all  such  grants  as  have  been  already 
made  by  the  authority  of  this  state,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  a  college."  It  con- 
tained no  provision  either  expressly  or  impliedly  giving  that  institution  the  right 
to  appropriate  to  its  own  use  and  benefit  said  lands  or  the  income  therefrom.  The 
power  given  was  more  in  the  nature  of  that  of  an  agency  to  take  charge  of,  lease, 
etc.,  said  lands  as  there  directed.  Beyond  that,  the  matter  of  these  lands  and  the 
rents,  interests,  and  profits  arising  therefrom,  were  yet  under  the  control,  order, 
direction,  and  disposal  of  the  General  Assembly.  It  is  said  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  (in  the  case  of  Newton  against  Board  of  County  Commissioners 
of  Mahoning  County,  found  in  the  100th  of  the  United  States  Reports,  page  548), 
that  "No  grant  can  be  raised  by  mere  inference  or  presumption,  and  the  right 
granted  must  be  clearly  defined.  *  *  *  The  rule  of  construction  in  this  class  of 
cases  (public  grants)  is  that  it  shall  be  most  strongly  against  the  corporation. 
Every  reasonable  doubt  is  to  be  resolved  adversely.  Nothing  is  to  be  taken  as 
conceded  but  what  is  given  in  unmistakable  terms  or  by  an  implication  equally 
clear.  The  afiirmative  must  be  shown.  Silence  is  negation,  and  doubt  is  fatal  to 
the  claim.  This  doctrine  is  vital  to  the  public  welfare."  The  same  doctrine  is 
discussed  and  applied  by  that  Court  in  the  recent  case  of  Blair  against  Chicago, 
found  in  the  201st  of  the  United  States  Reports,  page  400. 

That  the  lands  had  not  in  terms  been  granted  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont,  seems  to  have  been  understood,  for  on  November  10, 1802,  an  Act 
was  passed,  entitled  "An  act  in  addition  to,  and  explanation  of  an  act,  entitled  'an 
act  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  University  at  Burlington,'  passed  the  third  day  of 
November,  A.  D.  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety  one." 


ITS  CHARACTER  67 

The  preamble  and  section  1  of  this  Act  of  1802,  read : — 

''Whereas  doubts  have  arisen,  whether  the  corporation  of  the  University  of  Vermont, 
have  a  right  to  appropriate,  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  said  university,  the  rents  and  profits 
of  all  such  lands  as  have  been  already  granted  and  reserved,  by  the  authority  of  this 
state,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  a  college,  or  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  a  seminary  or 
college.  And,  Whereas  it  is  thought  necessary,  that  further  additions  be  made  to  said 
act  for  said  university — Therefore, 


SECTION    I 

"It  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  That  the  cor- 
poration of  the  University  of  Vermont,  is  hereby  vested  with  full  power,  right  and 
authority  to  take  charge  of,  lease,  rent,  and  appropriate  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
University  of  Vermont,  all  such  lands  as  have  been  already  granted  and  reserved, 
by  the  authority  of  this  state,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  a  college,  or  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  a  seminary  or  college;  and  the  same  to  continue,  until  the  further  order 
of  the  legislature." 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  legislature  did  not,  by  this  Act,  undertake  to  declare 
the  construction  of  the  provision  of  the  charter  empowering  the  University  of 
Vermont  "to  take  charge  of,  lease,  rent,  and  improve  to  the  best  advantage,  all 
such  grants  as  have  been  already  made  by  the  authority  of  this  state,  for  the  use 
and  benefit  of  a  college."  Without  saying  anything  about  the  construction  of  the 
charter  as  it  existed  in  this  respect,  the  legislature  enacted  an  amendment  thereto 
in  terms  materially  different  from  the  original  charter.  The  words  "and  improve 
to  the  best  advantage,  all  such  lands,"  etc.,  are  changed  to  read,  "and  appropriate 
to  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  all  such  lands,"  etc.,  thus,  in  a 
distinct  manner,  in  terms,  changing  the  pre-existing  provision;  nor  was  this  all: 
there  were  added  the  words  of  limitation,  "and  the  same  to  continue,  until  the 
further  order  of  the  legislature."  As  thus  amended,  the  charter  remained  until  an 
Act  was  passed  on  November  2,  1810,  by  which  the  corporation  was  vested  with 
full  power,  right,  and  authority,  to  take  charge  of,  etc.,  and  appropriate  all  such 
lands  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  said  university /oret'er,  the  same  Act  expressly  repeal- 
ing section  1  of  the  Act  of  1802,  quoted  above.  In  view  of  the  said  provision  of  the 
original  charter,  and  the  provisions  in  the  said  amendatory  Acts,  relating  to  the 
same  subject-matter,  it  is  not  apparent  to  the  Commission  how  it  can  be  said  from 
a  legal  standpoint,  that  in  the  original  charter  power  was  granted  to  appropriate 
said  lands,  or  the  rents  and  profits  therefrom,  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  University 
of  Vermont. 

Lest  it  be  said,  however,  that  in  granting  the  charter  of  that  corporation,  the 
intention  of  the  General  Assembly  was  to  include  within  the  power  vested  the  right 
to  appropriate  said  lands  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  that  institution,  and  that  it  was 
always  so  treated  before  the  passage  of  the  said  Act  of  1802,  and  that  it  should  be 


68  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

so  treated  now,  we  assume  all  this  to  be  true  and  discuss  the  matter  from  tliat  point 
of  view. 

Concerning  the  principle  of  law  invoked  in  the  brief  of  the  University  of  Vermont 
and  State  Agricultural  College,  that  if  the  King  and  a  private  individual  join  in 
endowing  a  charitable  corporation,  the  King  alone  is  the  founder,  Mr,  Serjeant 
Stephen,  in  his  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  England,  Vol.  3,  page  26,  states  as 
follows :  "And  if  the  sovereign  and  a  private  man  join  in  endowing  an  eleemosynary 
foundation,  the  sovereign  alone  shall  be  the  founder  of  it;  for  here  the  royal  pre- 
rogative prevails."  This  same  principle  is  stated  by  Sir  William  Blackstone,  in  his 
Commentaries,  Vol.  1,  page  481.  Mr,  Serjeant  Stephen  further  says  (Vol.  2,  page 
465),  "By  the  word  prerogative  we  are  to  understand  the  character  and  power  which 
the  sovereign  hath  over  and  above  all  other  persons,  in  right  of  his  regal  dignity; 
and  which,  though  part  of  the  common  law  of  the  country,  is  out  of  its  ordinary 
course.  This  is  expressed  in  its  very  name,  for  it  signifies,  in  its  etymology,  some- 
thing that  is  required  or  demanded,  before,  or  in  preference  to,  all  others;  and, 
accordingly.  Finch  lays  it  down  as  a  maxim,  that  the  prerogative  is  that  law  in  case 
of  the  king,  which  is  law  in  no  case  of  the  subject." 

Jacob's  Law  Dictionary  defines  the  word  "prerogative"  as  follows:  "By  the 
word  Prerogative  is  usually  understood,  that  special  pre-eminence,  which  the  King 
hath  over  and  above  all  other  persons,  and  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of  the  common 
law,  in  right  of  his  regal  dignity.  It  signifies,  in  its  etymology  from  prae  and  rogo, 
something  that  is  required  or  demanded  before,  or  in  preference  to  all  others.  And 
hence  it  follows,  that  it  must  be  in  its  nature  singular  and  eccentrical;  that  it  can 
only  be  applied  to  those  rights  and  capacities,  which  the  King  enjoys  alone  in  con- 
tradiction to  others;  and  not  to  those  which  he  enjoys  in  common  with  any  of  his 
Subjects :  for  if  once  any  prerogative  of  the  Crown  could  be  held  in  common  with  any 
subject,  it  would  cease  to  be  prerogative  any  longer.  Finch,  therefore,  lays  it  down 
as  a  maxim,  that  the  prerogative  is  that  law  in  case  of  the  King,  which  is  law  in  no 
case  of  the  subject.     Finch,  L.  85. 

"Prerogatives  are  either  direct  or  incidental.  The  direct  are  such  positive  sub- 
stantial parts  of  the  royal  character  and  authority,  as  are  rooted  in,  and  spring 
from,  the  King's  political  person,  and  of  which  we  are  about  to  state  the  law  at  some 
length.  But  such  prerogatives  as  are  incidential  bear  always  a  relation  to  some- 
thing else,  distinct  from  the  King's  person,  and  are  indeed  only  exceptions  in  favour 
of  the  Crown,  to  the  general  rules  established  f or^the  rest  of  the  community ;  *  *  * 
Other  incidental  prerogatives  are,  that  where  the  title  of  the  King  and  a  common 
person  concur,  the  King's  title  shall  be  preferred.     1  Inst.  30." 

"*  *  *  it  hath  been  established  as  a  rule,  that  all  prerogatives  nmst  be  for  the 
advantage  of  the  people,  otherwise  they  ought  not  to  be  allowed  by  law.  Moor  672; 
Show.  P.  C.  75." 

Though  so  much  of  the  common  law  of  England  as  is  applicable  to  our  local 
situation  and  circumstances,  and  is  not  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  or  the  laws, 


ITS  CHARACTER  69 

is  the  law  in  this  state,  yet  in  the  judgment  of  the  Commission  this  principle  of 
the  King's  prerogative,  which  is  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of  the  common  law  and 
places  the  sovereign  before,  or  in  preference  to,  all  others  in  this  respect,  is  not  appli- 
cable to  our  local  situation  and  circumstances,  and  therefore  it  is  not  a  part  of  the 
common  law  of  this  state.  Moreover,  it  seems  that  this  law  of  prerogative  (in- 
voked in  the  brief)  is  not  recognized  in  this  country. 

In  the  case  of  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  against  The  Planters'  Bank  of 
Georgia,  in  9th  of  Wheaton,  904,  the  action  was  brought  on  promissory  notes; 
one  question  was,  whether  the  circumstance  that  the  State  of  Georgia  and  certain 
individuals  were  members  of  the  defendant  bank,  brings  the  cause  within  the  clause 
of  the  Federal  Constitution  giving  jurisdiction  to  the  Supreme  Court  where  the 
state  is  a  party.     The  opinion  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall  contains  the  following: 

"It  is,  we  think,  a  sound  principle,  that  when  a  government  becomes  a  partner 
in  any  trading  company,  it  devests  itself,  so  far  as  concerns  the  transactions  of  that 
company,  of  its  sovereign  character,  and  takes  that  of  a  private  citizen.  Instead 
of  communicating  to  the  company  its  privileges  and  its  prerogatives,  it  descends  to 
a  level  with  those  with  whom  it  associates  itself,  and  takes  the  character  which 
belongs  to  its  associates,  and  to  the  business  which  is  to  be  transacted." 

In  the  case  of  Downing  against  the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  decided 
by  the  highest  court  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  found  in  the  12th  of  Lawyers'  Reports, 
Annotated,  page  664,  the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  a  body  corporate 
with  perpetual  succession,  having  as  ex  officio  members  the  president  of  each  county 
agricultural  society,  and  held  to  be  in  a  sense  an  educational  institution,  received 
part  of  its  funds  from  the  state,  but  for  the  most  part  its  funds  were  received  from 
private  citizens,  railroad  companies,  etc.  The  question  of  whether  the  corporation 
was  private  in  character  was  presented,  the  court  stating  that  it  must  be  determined 
by  the  construction  of  the  Act  of  incorporation.  Citing  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  aforementioned  case  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  against  The  Planters'  Bank  of  Georgia,  and  other  authorities,  to  the  effect 
that  if  the  whole  interest  does  not  belong  to  the  government,  that  is,  if  a  corpora- 
tion is  founded  in  part  by  private  benefaction  and  part  by  funds  derived  from  the 
bounty  of  the  government  itself,  the  corporation  is  private,  it  was  held  that  the 
Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture  was  a  private,  not  a  public,  corporation. 

In  the  case  of  Thomas  against  The  Industrial  University,  found  in  71st  of 
Illinois  Reports,  page  310,  the  corporation  wa^  held  to  be  a  state  institution  and 
not  subject  to  mechanics  lien  law.     The  Court  said: 

"The  officers  of  the  incorporation  are  paid,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  from 
funds  belonging  to  the  state.  All  of  the  interest  derived  from  the  funds  invested, 
from  rents  from  real  estate,  and  for  tuition  paid  by  pupils  or  otherwise,  belongs  to 
the  state,  and  hence  there  can  be  no  pretence  that  the  institution  is  private,  or  is 
to  be  governed  by  laws  relating  to  private  persons  or  corporations. 

"Had  this  body  been  mixed  in  its  character,  and  a  part  had  been  held  by  private 


70  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

individuals,  and  another  part  held  by  the  state,  then  the  rule  would,  no  doubt  be 
different.  It  has  been  held,  that,  where  the  state  enters  into  trade  or  business  with 
private  individuals  associated  together  in  a  corporate  capacity,  then  such  organ- 
ization may  be  subjected  to  all  of  the  legal  remedies  which  apply  to  private  corpora- 
tions. *  *  *  " 

And  in  the  case  of  Regents  of  the  University  of  Maryland  against  "Williams, 
found  in  9th  of  Gill  and  Johnson's  Reports,  page  365,  and  in  31  of  American  Decis- 
ions, page  72,  the  highest  court  in  Maryland  said: 

"And  all  the  authorities  agree  that  colleges  and  academies  established  for  the 
promotion  of  learning  and  piety,  and  endowed  with  property  by  public  and  private 
donations,  are,  in  a  legal  sense,  equally  with  hospitals  for  the  relief  of  the  poor, 
sick,  etc.,  considered  and  treated  as  private  eleemosynary  corporations." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  subscriptions  presented  by  Ira  Allen  in  addition 
to  his  personal  offer,  were  obtained  by  his  own  efforts  and  were  in  his  own  hand- 
writing. Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  the  sums  so  subscribed  were  contributions 
made  upon  his  solicitation  to  swell  the  fund  of  his  charity?  If  it  is  not,  then  the 
total  fund  should  be  considered  his  charity;  but  if  this  cannot  justly  be  said,  then 
every  subscriber  or  contributor  to  that  original  fund  should  be  considered  a  founder. 
This  is  in  accordance  with  the  doctrine  laid  down  in  the  Matter  of  the  Endowed 
Schools  Act  and  in  the  Matter  of  the  St.  Leonard,  Shoreditch,  Parochial  Schools, 
to  which  we  have  already  made  reference. 

Whichever  of  these  two  ways  be  correct,  it  seems  clear  to  the  Commission, 
upon  the  facts  and  the  law,  that  the  Corporation  of  the  University  of  Vermont 
was  made  to  rest  upon  a  private  foundation,  and  that  Ira  Allen  (in  case  the  total 
fund  by  him  presented  is  to  be  considered  as  his  charity)  was  the  perficient  founder; 
but  if  his  charity  was  confined  to  his  personal  gift,  than  all  of  those  whose  sub- 
scriptions or  contributions  entered  into  the  original  fund  were  the  perjicient 
founders,  the  principal  of  whom  was  Ira  Allen. 

The  act  of  incorporation  did  not  grant  political  power;  nor  did  it  create  a 
civil  institution  to  be  employed  in  the  administration  of  the  government;  nor  were 
its  trustees,  excepting  the  governor  of  this  state,  and  the  speaker  of  the  house  of 
representatives  for  the  time  being,  who  were  ex  officio  members,  public  officers 
exercising  powers  conferred  by  the  public  for  public  objects;  nor  were  the  funds  of 
the  university  public  property;  nor  was  the  State  of  Vermont,  as  a  government, 
alone  interested  in  the  transactions  of  the  university, — so  that  the  legislature  of 
the  state  could  act  according  to  its  own  judgment,  without  restraint  by  limitation 
of  power  imposed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  prohibiting  the  impair- 
ment of  the  obligations  of  contract,  without  regard  to  reserved  power  in  the  act 
of  incorporation. 

On  the  other  hand  the  institution  was  endowed  with  a  capacity  to  take  real 
or  personal  property  by  gift,  grant,  purchase,  or  devise,  for  the  use  of  the  university 
— objects  unconnected  with  state  government;  to  appoint,  elect,  support  and  re- 


ITS  CHARACTER  71 

move  all  such  officers  and  servants  as  they  should  find  necessary;  to  direct  the 
studies  of  youth;  to  establish  professorships  and  professors,  and  provide  for  their 
support;  to  make  and  establish  rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  for  the  government 
of  the  university,  not  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  state,  nor  tend- 
ing to  religious  preference;  to  grant  and  confer  all  such  degrees,  literary  titles, 
honors  and  distinctions  as  other  universities,  colleges,  and  seminaries  have  done, 
or  may  of  right  do;  to  increase  the  number  of  trustees,  as  they  should  think  proper, 
the  whole  not  to  exceed  a  number  stated.  Further  review  of  the  charter  is  unnec- 
essary. We  will  call  attention  to  the  law  laid  down  by  courts  in  cases  involving 
the   same   question. 

In  the  case  of  Regents  of  the  University  of  Maryland  against  Williams,  to 
which  reference  is  made  above,  one  question  was  whether  the  "Regents  of  the 
University"  was  a  public  or  a  private  corporation.  Thereon  the  court  of  last 
resort  in  Maryland  said: 

"A  public  corporation  is  one  that  is  created  for  political  purposes,  with  politi- 
cal powers,  to  be  exercised  for  purposes  connected  with  the  public  good  in  the 
administration  of  civil  government;  an  instrument  of  the  government  subject  to 
the  control  of  the  legislature,  and  its  members  ofiicers  of  the  government,  for  the 
administration  or  discharge  of  public  duties,  as  in  the  cases  of  cities,  towns,  etc.; 
so  where  a  bank  is  created  by  the  government  for  its  own  uses,  and  the  stock  belongs 
exclusively  to  the  government,  it  is  a  public  corporation;  and  so  of  a  hospital  created 
and  endowed  by  the  government  for  general  purposes  of  charity. 

"The  corporation  of  the  university  has  none  of  the  characteristics  of  a  public 
corporation.  It  is  not  a  municipal  corporation.  It  was  not  created  for  political 
purposes,  and  is  invested  with  no  political  powers.  It  is  not  an  instrument  of  the 
government  created  for  its  own  uses,  nor  are  its  members  officers  of  the  govern- 
ment, or  subject  to  its  control  in  the  due  management  of  its  affairs,  and  none  of 
its  property  or  funds  belong  to  the  government.  The  state  was  not  the  founder, 
in  the  sense  of  that  term,  as  applied  to  corporations.  It  was  the  creator  only,  by 
means  of  the  act  of  incorporation,  and  may  be  called  the  incipient,  not  the  perficient 
founder.  It  gave  to  it  in  its  creation  the  capacity  to  acquire  and  to  hold  property, 
but  made  to  it  no  donation;  and  whatever  property  the  corporation  has,  is  its  own, 
to  be  managed  and  disposed  of  by  the  regents  for  the  uses  of  the  institution,  in 
such  manner  as  they  may  judge  most  promotive  of  its  interests,  and  not  for  the 
uses  of  the  government,  nor  in  the  exercise  of  any  political  powers,  but  as  the  trus- 
tees merely  for  the  university.  It  is  said  there  have  been  subsequent  endowments 
by  the  state.  If  it  be  so,  that  cannot  affect  the  character  of  this  corporation.  If 
eleemosynary  and  private  at  first,  no  subsequent  endowment  of  it  by  the  state 
could  change  its  character,  and  make  it  public." 

The  elements  essential  to  the  determination  of  the  character  of  the  University 
of  Vermont,  as  originally  chartered,  are  not  materially  different  from  those  per- 
taining to  Dartmouth  College,  as  shown  in  the  Dartmouth  College  case,  upon 


72  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

which  that  college  was  held  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  to  a  be 
private  eleemosynary  institution.  One  of  the  questions  involved  was,  whether 
"The  Trustees  of  Dartmouth  College,"  was  a  private  corporation  as  contended  by 
the  plaintiff,  or  a  public  corporation  as  contended  by  the  defendant.  Therein 
Mr.  Justice  Story  said: 

"Public  corporations  are  generally  esteemed  such  as  exist  for  public  political 
purposes  only,  such  as  towns,  cities,  parishes,  and  counties;  and  in  many  respects 
they  are  so,  although  they  involve  some  private  interests;  but  strictly  speaking, 
public  corporations  are  such  only  as  are  founded  by  the  government  for  public 
purposes,  where  the  whole  interests  belong  also  to  the  government.  If,  therefore, 
the  foundation  be  private,  though  under  the  charter  of  the  government,  the  corpora- 
tion is  private,  however  extensive  the  uses  may  be  to  which  it  is  devoted,  either 
by  the  bounty  of  the  founder  or  the  nature  and  objects  of  the  institution.  *  *  * 

"A  hospital  founded  by  a  private  benefactor  is,  in  point  of  law,  a  private  corpora- 
tion, although  dedicated  by  its  charter  to  general  charity.  So  a  college,  founded 
and  endowed  in  the  same  manner,  although,  being  for  the  promotion  of  learning 
and  piety,  it  may  extend  its  charity  to  scholars  from  every  class  in  the  community, 
and  thus  acquire  the  character  of  a  public  institution.  This  is  the  unequivocal 
doctrine  of  the  authorities,  and  cannot  be  shaken  but  by  undermining  the  most 
solid  foundations  of  the  common  law." 

In  Allen  against  McKeen,  found  in  1  of  Sumner's  Reports,  page  276,  the  same 
question  was  before  the  court  respecting  the  character  of  Bowdoin  College,  whether 
it  is  a  private  or  a  public  corporation.  In  determining  the  question  there,  Mr. 
Justice  Story  also  said : 

"That  a  college,  merely  because  it  receives  a  charter  from  the  government, 
though  founded  by  private  benefactors,  is  not  thereby  constituted  a  public  corpora- 
tion, controllable  by  the  government,  is  clear  beyond  any  reasonable  doubt.  So 
the  law  was  understood  by  Lord  Holt,  in  his  celebrated  judgments  in  Phillips  v. 
Bury,  (1  Ld.  Raym.  R.  8;  S.  C.  2  T.  R.  346.)  *  *  *.  Nor  does  it  make  any  dif- 
ference, that  the  funds  have  been  generally  derived  from  the  bounty  of  the  govern- 
ment itself.  The  government  may  as  well  bestow  its  bounty  upon  a  private  cor- 
poration for  charity,  as  upon  a  public  corporation;  and  its  funds  once  bestowed 
upon  the  former  become  irrevocable,  precisely  in  the  same  manner,  and  to  the  same 
extent,  as  if  they  had  been  bestowed  upon  an  individual.  The  government  cannot 
resume  a  gift,  once  absolutely  made  to  a  private  person;  neither  can  it  resume  a  like 
gift  to  a  private  corporation.  It  is  true,  that  the  government  may  reserve  such  a 
power  in  granting  a  charter,  if  it  chooses  so  to  do;"  It  was  held  that  Bowdoin 
College  was  a  private  and  not  a  public  corporation,  as  "It  answers  the  very  descrip- 
tion of  a  private  college,  as  laid  down  by  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Marshall,"  in  the  Dart- 
mouth College  case. 

Nor  did  the  fact  that  the  state  granted  to  the  University  of  Vermont,  to  be 
leased  for  its  use  and  benefit,  lands  reserved  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  a  college  or 


ITS  CHARACTER  73 

seminary,  (if  the  fair  and  proper  construction  of  the  charter,  as  originally  granted, 
should  be  in  law  to  this  efiiect,)  operate  to  make  the  character  of  the  corporation 
public.  It  is  said  by  Chancellor  -Kent  (2  Kent's  Commentaries,  marginal  page 
276),  "A  charity  may  be  public,  though  administered  by  a  private  corporation. 
A  devise  to  the  poor  of  a  parish  is  a  public  charity.  The  charity  of  almost  every 
hospital  and  college  is  public,  while  the  corporations  are  private.  To  hold  a  corpora- 
tion to  be  public,  because  the  charity  was  public,  would  be  to  confound  the  popular 
with  the  strictly  legal  sense  of  terms,  and  to  jar  with  the  whole  current  of  decisions 
since  the  time  of  Lord  Coke."  And  it  appears  from  what  is  said  in  the  case  of 
Downing  against  Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  (to  which  reference  has  been 
made,)  that  a  college  founded  and  endowed  by  ])rivate  lienefaction,  though  for  the 
general  promotion  of  learning,  is  private;  and  that  a  college,  merely  because  it 
received  a  charter  from  the  government,  if  founded  by  private  benefactors,  is  not 
thereby  constituted  a  public  corporation  controllable  by  the  government;  nor  does 
it  make  any  difference  that  the  funds  have  generally  been  derived  from  the  bounty 
of  the  government. 

It  is  further  said  in  the  brief  mentioned  that  most  of  these  reservations  in  the 
town  charters  were  made  prior  to  the  change  in  the  Constitution,  "and  the  lands 
so  reserved  were  obviously  reserved  to  the  use  of  the  college  called  for  by  the  Con- 
stitution,— which  would  be,  as  noted,  a  public  institution;"  and  that  there  is  nothing 
to  indicate  that  the  reservations  in  the  grants  made  after  the  adoption  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  1786  were  for  an  institution  different  in  character.  The  fallacy  of  this 
position  is  obvious.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  connection  with  rights  reserved 
in  charters  of  towns,  Jor  the  use  of  a  seminary  or  college,  are  rights  reserved  for  the 
use  of  county  grammar  schools,  and  that  the  two  rights  so  reserved  were,  in  the 
same  sentence  and  in  the  same  terms,  to  be  under  the  control,  order,  direction,  and 
disposal  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  state,  forever.  Regarding  such  lands,  the 
Supreme  Court  (in  the  case  of  the  Trustees  of  Caledonia  County  Grammar  School 
against  Burt,  found  in  the  11th  of  Vermont  Reports,  page  632,)  said:  "Over  these 
two  rights,  the  legislature  had  an  absolute  and  entire  control  and  disposal,  for  the 
use  and  purposes  for  which  they  were  reserved.  Of  the  one  for  the  use  of  grammar 
schools,  it  had  the  power  to  grant  it  to  any  one  or  more,  and  upon  such  limitations 
and  conditions  as  the  legislature  chose  to  express,  or  without  any  condition  what- 
ever, in  which  case  it  would  have  only  the  implied  condition  that  the  use  must  ever 
be  applied  to  the  purpose  of  the  grant."  And  in  Orleans  County  Grammar  School 
against  Parker,  (found  in  25th  of  Vermont  Reports,  page  696,)  it  was  held  that  the 
General  Assembly  could  divide  such  lands  between  two  grammar  schools  in  the 
same  county.  What  the  General  Assembly  could  do  in  this  respect  with  the  county 
grammar  school  lands,  it  could  do  with  respect  to  the  lands  reserved  to  the  use  of  a 
seminary  or  college,  for  the  power  in  the  General  Assembly  regarding  them  is 
exactly  the  same.  Of  course  this  must  not  be  understood  as  giving  the  legislature 
the  power  to  violate  the  obligation  of  a  grant  of  such  lands  once  made  to  a  private 


74  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

corporation,  without  reserved  power  giving  the  right  of  future  legislation  respecting 
them. 

Does  the  grant  of  such  grammar  school  lands  to  the  trustees  of  county  grammar 
schools  in  the  Act  of  incorporation  operate  to  make  the  corporation  public?  This 
question  was  answered  by  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  state  in  the  Caledonia 
County  Grammar  School  case,  cited  above,  and  also  in  a  later  case  presently  to  be 
mentioned.  Referring  to  the  former,  the  town  of  Lyndon,  in  the  county  of  Cale- 
donia was  chartered  in  1780,  the  charter  reserving  one-seventieth  part  for  the  use 
of  a  college,  and  one-seventieth  part  for  the  use  of  county  grammar  schools,  "which 
two-seventieth  parts  for  the  use  of  a  seminary  or  college,  and  for  the  use  of  county 
grammar  schools,  as  aforesaid,  and  the  improvements,  rents,  interests,  and  profits 
arising  thereupon,  shall  be  under  the  control,  order,  direction  and  disposal  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  said  state  forever."  By  an  Act  passed  in  1795,  the  persons 
therein  named  and  their  successors  were  declared  to  be  a  body  corporate  and  politic 
in  law,  to  be  called  and  known  as  "The  Trustees  of  Caledonia  County  Grammar 
School,"  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  a  grammar  school  at  Peacham,  and  were 
authorized  and  empowered  to  hold  and  lease  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  said  institu- 
tion, the  lands  lying  within  that  county,  granted  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  a  county 
grammar  school,  the  legislature  reserving  no  right  to  alter,  modify,  or  repeal  the 
charter.  In  1831,  the  legislature  incorporated  a  second  county  grammar  school  in 
that  county,  at  Lyndon.  In  1836,  the  legislature  passed  an  Act  authorizing  the 
trustees  of  this  second  school  to  take  possession  of  the  grammar-school  lands  in 
Lyndon  and  in  certain  other  towns  in  the  county,  and  to  hold  the  same;  and  if  the 
same  had  been  leased,  the  tenants  were  directed  to  attorn  to  these  trustees.  The 
Supreme  Court,  holding  that  the  grant  by  the  state  to  the  Grammar  School  at 
Peacham  vested  an  indefeasible  title  and  was  a  contract  which  the  state  had  no 
power  to  impair  by  subsequent  legislation,  and  that  the  subsequent  grant  of  a  part 
of  said  lands  to  the  grammar  school  at  Lyndon  was  an  impairment  of  the  obligation 
of  a  contract,  contrary  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  void,  said, 
"That  the  trustees  of  a  college,  grammar-school  or  seminary  of  learning  is  such  a 
corporation  as  cannot,  without  their  own  consent,  be  modified,  vacated  or  con- 
trolled by  act  of  the  legislature,  as  may  be  done  with  counties,  towns  or  other  muni- 
cipal or  civil  corporations,  is  fully  decided  in  Trustees  of  Dartmouth  College  v. 
Woodward,  4  Wheaton,  518."  This  in  effect  was  a  holding  that  the  Caledonia 
County  Grammar  School  at  Peacham  was  a  private  corporation.  The  same  holding 
was  had  in  the  essentially  similar  case  of  Franklin  County  Grammar  School  against 
Bailey,  to  which  reference  has  been  made.  It  follows  that  the  granting  of  such 
lands  to  county  grammar  schools  in  Acts  of  incorporation  passed  after  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution  of  1786,  did  not  operate  to  make  those  corporations  public  in 
character,  even  though  the  lands  so  granted  were  reserved  in  town  charters  for  the 
use  of  county  grammar  schools  at  a  time  when  the  Constitution  of  1777  was  in 
force,  and  by  it  county  grammar  schools  were  to  be  established  as  part  of  the  public 


ITS  CHARACTER  75 

school  system  of  the  state.  This  being  so,  how  can  it  be  said  that  the  grant  of  the 
power  to  take  charge  of,  lease,  rent,  and  improve  the  lands  reserved  to  the  use  of  a 
seminary  or  college,  to  the  University  of  Vermont,  had  the  effect  to  make  that  cor- 
poration public  in  character? 

The  charter  states  that  "it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  the  said  corporation  to  hold  in 
lands,  lying  within  this  state,  to  a  greater  quantity  than  seventy  thousand  acres; 
unless  by  consent  of  the  legislature  of  this  state,  by  a  law  obtained  for  that  purpose; 
anything  herein  contained  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding."  This  provision 
restricting  the  quantity  of  lands  in  the  state  which  the  corporation  might  hold, 
except  by  special  consent  of  the  legislature,  was  wisely  inserted  to  guard  against  too 
great  accumulation  of  such  property  in  the  hands  of  this  corporate  body  authorized 
to  acquire  and  hold  property  for  corporate  purposes,  and  having  an  indefinite 
existence.  But  there  was  no  reason  for  such  a  restriction  if  the  corporation  was 
public  and  consequently  of  state  control. 

The  charter  further  provided,  that  the  said  trustees,  when  required  by  the  legis- 
lature, lay  before  them  the  state  and  conditions  of  the  funds  of  the  university, 
together  with  all  appropriations  by  them  made,  and  the  by-laws,  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  government  of  said  institution,  for  their  examination,  approbation, 
and  revision.  This  was  not  the  reservation  of  visitatorial  powers  as  they  exist  at 
common  law.  Regarding  such  powers  Chancellor  Kent  (in  2  Kent's  Commen- 
taries, marginal  page  300)  says : 

"To  eleemosynary  corporations,  a  visitatorial  power  is  attached  as  a  necessary 
incident.  *  *  *  If  the  corporation  be  public,  in  the  strict  sense,  the  government  has 
the  sole  right,  as  trustee  of  the  public  interest,  to  inspect,  regulate,  control,  and 
direct  the  corporation,  and  its  funds  and  franchises,  because  the  whole  interest  and 
franchises  are  given  for  the  public  use  and  advantage.  Such  corporations  are  to  be 
governed  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land.  *  *  *  But  private  and  particular  cor- 
porations, founded  and  endowed  by  individuals  for  charitable  purposes,  are  subject 
to  the  private  government  of  those  who  are  the  efficient  patrons  and  founders.  If 
there  be  no  visitor  appointed  by  the  founder,  the  law  appoints  the  founder  himself, 
and  his  heirs,  to  be  the  visitors.  *  *  *  This  power  is  judicial  and  supreme,  but  not 
legislative.  He  is  to  judge  according  to  the  statutes  and  rules  of  the  college  or 
hospital,"  and  the  decision  of  the  visitor  is  final  and  without  appeal.  "In  most 
cases  of  eleemosynary  establishments,  the  founders  do  not  retain  this  visitatorial 
power  in  themselves,  but  assign  or  vest  it  in  favor  of  some  certain  specified  trustees 
or  governors  of  the  institution.  It  may  even  be  inferred,  from  the  nature  of  the 
duties  to  be  performed  by  the  corporation  or  trustees  for  the  persons  interested  in 
the  bounty,  that  the  founders  or  donors  of  the  charity  meant  to  vest  the  power  of 
visitation  in  such  trustees.  This  was  the  case  with  Dartmouth  College,  according 
to  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  the  case  of  Dartmouth 
College  v.  Woodward.  Where  governors  or  trustees  are  appointed  by  a  charter, 
according  to  the  will  of  the  founder,  to  manage  a  charity,  (as  is  usually  the  case  in 


76  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

colleges  and  hospitals,)  the  visitatorial  power  is  deemed  to  belong  to  the  trustees  itt 
their  corporate  character." 

The  trustees  named  in  the  charter  were  incorporated  and  given  power  to  make 
and  establish  all  necessary  rules,  regulations,  and  by-laws  (not  repugant  to  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  state),  "and  to  do  any  other  thing  which  shall  be 
found  necessary  for  the  government  and  welfare  of  such  an  institution."  In  law 
trustees  so  incorporated  are  deemed  to  have  visitatorial  power,  and  particularly 
so  in  this  instance,  since  Ira  Allen  was  one  of  the  trustees  and  consequently  a 
visitor  of  his  own  charity.  It  was  said  by  Daniel  Webster  in  arguing  the  Dartmouth 
College  case  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  that  in  New  England, 
and  perhaps  throughout  the  United  States,  eleemosynary  corporations  have  been 
generally  established  by  incorporating  governours,  or  trustees,  and  vesting  in  them 
the  right  of  visitation.  Further  saying:  "Small  variations  may  hav'e  been  in 
some  instances  adopted;  as  in  the  case  of  Harvard  College,  where  some  power  of 
inspection  is  given  to  the  overseers,  but  not  strictly  speaking,  a  visitatorial  power» 
which  still  belongs,  it  is  apprehended  to  the  fellows,  or  members  of  the  corporation. 
In  general,  there  are  many  donors.  A  charter  is  obtained,  comprising  them  all, 
or  some  of  them,  and  such  others  as  they  choose  to  include,  with  the  right  of  appoint- 
ing their  successors.  They  are  thus  the  visitors  of  their  own  charity  and  appoint 
others,  such  as  they  may  see  fit,  to  exercise  the  same  office  in  time  to  come.  All 
such  corporations  are  private."  It  was  said  by  Mr.  Justice  Story  in  the  same  case, 
that  "where  trustees  or  governours  are  incorporated  to  manage  the  charity,  the 
visitatorial  power  is  deemed  to  belong  to  them  in  their  corporate  character." 

The  power  of  the  legislature  to  require  of  the  trustees  a  report  of  the  funds  of  the 
university,  together  with  the  appropriations  made  by  them,  and  the  by-laws,  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  institution,  for  their  examination,  approbation,  and  revision, 
falls  far  short  of  visitatorial  powers  under  the  common  law.  The  powers  thus 
reserved  are  not  greater  than  the  legislature  might  well  require  respecting  such 
corporation  of  its  creation  having  the  powers  and  the  limitations  of  the  charter,  in- 
cluding that  of  taking  charge  of,  leasing,  renting,  and  improving  the  lands  reserved 
by  the  authority  of  the  state  to  the  use  of  a  seminary  or  college.  The  provision  in 
this  respect  was  a  condition  imposed  by  the  state  in  granting  the  charter. 

Further  discussion  hardly  seems  necessary  to  satisfy  any  one  of  the  character  of 
the  University  of  Vermont.  In  the  judgment  of  the  Commission,  the  corporation 
of  the  University  of  Vermont,  as  originally  chartered,  was  not  a  public  corporation, 
but  it  was  a  private  eleemosynary  institution. 

By  the  last  section  of  the  Act  of  1791,  the  Governor  of  the  State  was  empowered 
and  requested  to  issue  to  the  trustees  named  therein  and  to  their  successors  a  charter 
of  incorporation,  made  in  due  form  of  law,  in  accordance  with  that  act.  It  appears 
that  no  such  charter  was  in  fact  ever  issued  by  the  Governor.  However,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Commission,  this  is  of  no  material  consequence,  (except  as  it  may 
form  a  part  of  the  conditions  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  1810,  herein- 


ITS  CHARACTER  77 

after  noticed,)  for,  if  such  a  charter  had  been  issued,  in  legal  effect  it  would  be  as 
broad  and  no  broader  than  the  act  of  the  legislature  directing  it.  So,  in  this  in- 
stance, and  in  any  other  instance  coming  before  the  Commission,  the  act  creating 
the  corporation  is  deemed  its  charter  and  is  referred  to  as  such;  and  any  legislative 
amendment  thereto  is  considered  an  amendment  to  the  charter. 

It  appears  from  the  records  of  the  corporation  that,  during  the  session  of  the  legis- 
lature in  October,  1810,  the  trustees  of  the  University  of  Vermont  met  at  Mont- 
pelier  and  asked  the  legislature  to  appoint  a  committee  "to  advise  with  the  corpora- 
tion in  relation  of  the  interests  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  and  to  devise  the  best 
mode  to  promote  the  same";  that  such  a  committee  was  appointed,  resulting  in  the 
passing  of  an  act,  November  2,  1810,  in  amendment  of  the  charter.  By  that  act 
the  filling  of  vacancies  in  the  board  of  trustees  was  placed  upon  the  legislature,  the 
tenure  of  office  was  fixed,  and  the  trustees  were  to  be  commissioned  by  the  Governor 
of  the  state  and  sworn  as  was  "by  law  required  with  regard  to  other  state  officers"; 
and  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  Governor  to  issue  a  charter  to  the  trustees,  "con- 
firming to  them  and  their  successors,  to  be  chosen  from  time  to  time,  according  to 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  all  the  rights  and  immunities  belonging  to  the  said  Cor- 
poration of  the  University  of  Vermont,  by  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  of  that  to 
which  this  is  an  addition."  It  was  claimed  before  this  Commission  that  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  requiring  the  trustees  to  be  thus  elected  and  sworn,  show  that 
the  University  of  Vermont  was  a  state  institution. 

It  had  then  been  about  twenty  years  since  the  act  of  incorporation  was  passed,  and 
no  formal  charter  had  been  issued  by  the  Governor,  as  therein  directed.  Hence 
the  reason  why  the  amendatory  act  directed  a  charter  to  be  issued  confirming  to  the 
trustees  and  their  successors  all  rights  and  immunities  belonging  to  the  corporation 
by  provisions  of  that  act  and  by  the  act  of  incorporation.  "A  confirmation,"  says 
Lord  Comyns,  "gives  nothing  but  the  right  to  that  which  he  to  whom  the  confirma- 
tion is  made  had  before."  The  provision  requiring  the  trustees  to  be  commissioned 
and  sworn  did  not  have  the  effect  of  making  the  corporation  public.  The  legislature 
had  the  power  to  insert  such  a  condition,  as  well  as  the  one  requiring  reports  con- 
cerning the  funds  of  the  university,  etc.,  to  the  legislature  for  their  consideration, 
but  under  the  authorities  cited  above,  the  insertion  of  such  conditions  was  not  by 
any  means  a  controlling  element  as  to  the  character  of  the  institution.  No  other 
alteration  of  the  provisions  of  the  charter,  material  to  notice  here,  was  there  made. 
There  was  no  surrender  of  the  charter.  The  corporation  was  not  founded  afresh. 
The  only  change  effected  respecting  the  funds  or  the  property  of  the  corporation, 
related  to  the  lands  granted  by  the  state  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  university, 
making  the  grant  "forever"  instead  of  "until  the  further  order  of  the  legislature," 
as  under  the  amendment  of  1802. 

Moreover,  in  August,  1828,  the  corporation  passed  a  resolution  in  part,  that  a 
proper  application  be  made  to  the  legislature  for  amendments  to  the  charter  so  as  to 
provide  for  an  appointment  by  the  legislature  of  "a  board  of  visitors  to  attend  the 


78  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

annual  examinations  and  report  the  state  of  the  institution  to  the  legislature";  and 
also  so  as  to  empower  the  board  of  trustees  to  fill  all  future  vacancies  occurring  in 
that  board;  and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  present  a  petition  to  the  legisla- 
ture for  such  purpose.  The  legislature  of  that  year  (presumably  in  compliance 
with  an  application  so  made),  passed  an  act,  section  1  of  which  provided  that  all 
vacancies  in  the  board  of  trustees  should  be  filled  by  that  body,  and  that  so  much 
of  the  Act  of  1810  as  prescribed  the  number  of  trustees,  the  term  of  oflBce,  and  the 
mode  of  election,  should  be  thereby  repealed.  Section  3  of  the  Act  of  1828  pro- 
vided for  the  appointment  annually  of  "three  commissioners"  by  the  Governor  and 
Council,  to  be  present  at  the  annual  examination  of  the  students  each  year,  for  the 
purpose  of  inquiring  into  the  regulations  and  by-laws,  state  of  funds,  and  the  gen- 
eral execution  of  the  provisions  of  the  charter ;  and  to  make  report  of  their  proceed- 
ings to  the  legislature.  So  much  of  the  Act  of  1810  as  required  a  report  to  the 
legislature  from  the  board  of  trustees  was  thereby  repealed;  and  by  an  Act  passed 
November  5,  1845,  so  much  of  section  3  of  the  Act  of  1828  as  provided  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  board  of  commissioners,  was  repealed.  Thereafter  the  legislature 
had  no  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  board  of  trustees,  and  there  was  no  provision 
in  the  charter  for  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  be  present  at  any  of  the 
functions  of  the  institution,  nor  was  there  any,  requiring  the  trustees  to  make  a 
report  to  the  legislature,  on  request  or  otherwise, — all  such  matters  were  exclusively 
with  the  trustees,  the  self -perpetuating  body. 

We  have  already  quoted  from  an  address  delivered  before  this  commission 
by  the  President  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  as 
follows:  "The  University  of  Vermont  has  been  from  the  beginning  of  its  existence 
a  state  university.  The  facts  of  history  are  a  full  and  sufiicient  demonstration  of 
this  proposition."  In  view  of  this  statement  it  may  not  be  considered  as  going 
afield  if  we  mention  some  unequivocal  acts  showing  that  during  the  operative 
existence  of  the  University  of  Vermont  it  was  considered  by  the  trustees  as  a  pri- 
vate institution,  and  that  it  acted  as  such.  All  of  its  buildings  were  erected  by 
private  endowments  or  money  raised  through  the  efforts  of  the  trustees  by  private 
subscription  for  such  purpose,  including  one  in  1824  to  take  the  place  of  one  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  including  two  in  1825.  In  1821,  the  affairs  of  the  university 
becoming  embarrassed  in  consequence  of  judgments  against  it  which  it  could  not 
pay,  the  faculty  were  authorized  to  suspend  instruction  at  their  own  discretion, 
and  the  operation  of  the  institution  would  have  been  suspended  indefinitely  had 
it  not  been  for  the  timely  encouragement  and  assistance  of  its  friends  among  pri- 
vate individuals.  It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  during  the  War  of  1812,  large 
quantities  of  arms  belonging  to  the  United  States  were  deposited  in  the  university 
building  without  the  consent  of  the  corporation,  and  that  in  March,  1814,  the 
commanding  general  applied  to  the  corporation  to  rent  the  building  for  the  use  of 
the  American  army,  intimating  that  if  consent  were  not  given,  forcible  possession 
would  be  taken  of  it;  and  thereupon  a  committee  of  the  corporation  entered  into 


ITS  CHARACTER  79 

an  arrangement  with  the  agents  of  the  government  wherebj-  the  rent  was  fixed 
at  a  certain  sum  per  year,  the  building  being  thus  occupied  until  the  return  of 
peace  in  1815,  when  it  was  evacuated  by  the  army.  The  records  of  the  University 
of  Vermont  show  that  on  March  23,  1814,  a  resolution  was  adopted  stating  that 
a  committee,  appointed  at  a  previous  meeting  of  the  corporation,  had  leased  to 
the  United  States  the  college  edifice  for  the  term  of  one  year,  for  the  rent  and  upon 
the  conditions  recited  in  the  lease,  and  ratifying  the  acts  of  the  committee  in  that 
behalf;  further  resolving  that  the  treasurer  adjusts  the  claims  of  the  corporation 
against  the  United  States  for  the  storage  of  the  army  therein,  and  receive  the  sum 
agreed  upon  as  due  therefor,  and  execute  proper  receipts  for  the  same.  The 
records  further  show  that  after  such  occupancy  ceased,  claim  was  made  by  the 
corporation  for  damages  done  to  the  college  premises  and  property,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  by  it  to  adjust  the  same  with  the  United  States  government,  and 
to  receive  compensation  therefor  to  the  use  of  the  corporation,  the  matter  being 
concluded  in  1817.  The  corporate  records  clearly  show  that  these  transactions  were 
between  the  United  States  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Corporation  of  the  University 
of  Vermont  on  the  other  hand,  and  they  do  not  show  that  the  state  of  Vermont 
participated  therein,  nor  that  it  in  any  way  concerned  itself  therewith.  All  of  the 
aforementioned  events  were  within  the  period  when  the  filling  of  vacancies  in 
the  board  of  trustees  was  with  the  legislature  and  reports  were  required  from  the 
trustees  to  that  body.  In  1840,  the  Corporation  of  the  University  of  Vermont 
presented  its  petition  to  the  legislature,  praying  for  a  loan  (not  a  donation) ,  tender- 
ing security  by  way  of  a  mortgage  on  lands  on  which  they  proposed  to  erect  buildings 
with  a  part  of  the  loan  asked  for.  On  a  yea  and  nay  vote  the  petition  was  refused. 
If  the  corporation  were  public  in  character,  here  was  the  anomalous  position  of  the 
state's  trying  to  borrow  money  of  itself  and  tendering  to  itself,  as  security  therefor, 
a  mortgage  on  real  estate  owned  by  itself. 

Can  any  one  imagine  a  series  of  acts  by  a  university  more  consistent  with 
what  might  be  expected  from  a  private  corporation,  and  more  inconsistent  with 
what  might  be  expected  from  such  an  institution  of  learning,  public  in  character, 
with  the  sovereign  state  financially  behind  it? 

In  1840,  Rev.  Dr.  John  Wheeler,  then  president  of  the  University  of  Vermont, 
had  a  list  in  Burlington  on  which  he  was  assessed  a  tax  in  March,  1841.  On  his 
refusal  to  pay  the  tax,  his  cow  was  taken  by  the  collector  of  taxes  and  regularly 
sold  in  satisfaction  thereof.  A  suit  in  trespass  for  taking  the  cow  was  brought 
by  President  Wheeler  against  the  collector  (Wheeler  v.  Lane,  15th  of  Vermont 
Reports,  page  26.)  Therein  the  plaintiff  was  represented  by  Lyman  and  Marsh, 
attorneys.  By  the  charter  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  the  persons  of  all  officers, 
servants  and  students  belonging  to  the  university  were  exempted  from  taxation, 
and  by  the  Act  of  1802,  amending  the  charter,  "the  persons,  families,  and  estates 
of  the  president  and  professors,  lying  and  being  within  the  town  of  Burlington, 
to  the  value  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  each  of  said  officers,"  were  exempted  from 


80  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

taxation.  The  reported  case  shows  the  collector  claimed  that  all  exemptions 
in  favor  of  college  officers  had  been  repealed,  and  that  such  repeal  was  within  the 
power  of  the  legislature  because  the  University  of  Vermont  was  a  public  corpora- 
tion. President  Wheeler,  through  his  attorneys,  claimed  that  the  exemption  was 
a  franchise  to  a  private  corporation,  the  University  of  Vermont,  and,  therefore, 
irrevocable.  His  brief  presented  says  in  its  second  point,  "2.  The  corporation, 
created  by  the  act  of  1791 — Sal.  Comp.  L.  581 — and  the  several  additional  acts,  is 
a  private  corporation,  and,  therefore,  all  legislative  grants  to  it,  whether  of  funds 
or  franchises,  are  irrevocable,"  citing  in  support  of  this  position  the  Dartmouth 
College  case,  the  case  of  Allen  against  McKeen,  and  the  case  of  the  Trustees  of 
Caledonia  County  Grammar  School  against  Burt, — three  cases  already  noticed 
herein. 

Although  the  court  found  it  unnecessary,  for  the  decision  of  the  case,  to  pass 
upon  the  question  thus  raised,  the  fact  that  the  president  of  the  university,  in  the 
course  of  this  litigation,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  his  right  as  an  officer  of 
that  institution,  unequivocally  took  the  position  that  the  university  was  a  private 
corporation,  is  of  particular  significance,  because  this  position  of  the  president  was 
in  full  accord  with  the  acts  of  the  corporation  itself,  mentioned  above. 

Nothing  further  need  be  said  to  show  that  even  if  a  change  in  character  be  possi- 
ble during  the  existence  of  a  corporation,  no  such  change  took  place  as  to  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  University  of  Vermont. 

In  1864,  November  22,  an  act  to  establish  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College 
was  passed.  By  it,  Justin  S.  Morrill  and  thirteen  other  men  named,  their  asso- 
ciates and  successors,  were  constituted  a  body  corporate  under  that  name,  "the 
leading  object  of  which  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical 
studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are 
related  to  Agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and 
practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions 
of  life."  By  it,  the  corporators  were  made  the  trustees,  their  terms  of  office  fixed, 
the  filling  of  vacancies  to  be  by  the  legislature.  The  governor  of  the  state  and  the 
president  of  the  faculty  were  made  ex  ojfficio  members  of  the  corporation.  The 
trustees  were  given  power  to  elect  all  officers  of  the  corporation  and  to  declare  their 
duties  and  terms  of  office;  to  elect  a  president  of  the  college,  professors,  instructors 
and  other  officers,  and  determine  their  duties,  salaries,  responsibilities,  and  terms 
of  office.  The  corporation  was  authorized  to  make  rules,  orders,  and  by-laws,  for 
the  government  of  the  college  and  for  the  regulation  of  their  own  body;  to  take 
and  hold  in  fee  simple  or  any  less  estate,  by  gift,  grant,  bequest,  devise,  or  otherwise, 
any  land,  tenements,  or  other  estate,  real  or  personal.  The  board  of  trustees  was 
given  the  power  to  determine  the  location  of  the  college,  and  in  their  discretion 
to  obtain  by  gift,  grant,  purchase,  or  other  means,  a  tract  of  land  not  to  exceed  one 
hundred  acres,  to  be  used  as  an  experimental  farm,  so  as  best  to  promote  the  objects 
of  the  institution;  and  one-tenth  of  all  the  moneys  received  by  the  state  treasurer 


ITS  CHARACTER  81 

from  the  sale  of  land  scrip  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  (Morrill 
Act  of  1862),  mentioned  therein,  and  of  the  laws  of  the  state,  could  be  appropriated 
toward  the  purchase  of  such  site  or  farm;  provided,  the  trustees  should  determine 
to  purchase  such  farm;  and  provided  further,  that  the  college  should  first  secure 
by  valid  subscrij)tion,  or  otherwise,  the  further  sum  of  not  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  suitable  buildings  thereon,  providing 
libraries  and  apparatus,  and  defraying  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  college;  and 
the  corporation  should  cease  to  exist  at  a  specified  time  (November  15,  1865), 
unless  it  had  then  obtained  valid  and  solvent  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  that 
sum,  to  be  applied  to  the  endowment  or  other  uses  of  the  college.  When  duly 
organized,  located,  and  established,  as  and  for  the  purposes  specified  in  the  act, 
the  college  was  to  receive  each  year  the  annual  interest  or  income  from  the  Federal 
fund. 

"The  clear  rents  and  profits  of  all  the  estate"  of  which  the  corporation  should  be 
seized  and  possessed,  were  to  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  college,  and  in  event 
of  dissolution  of  the  corporation,  the  estate  belonging  to  it  was  to  revert  and  belong 
to  the  state,  to  be  held  and  disposed  of  by  it  in  the  advancement  of  education  in 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  The  legislature  in  terms  reserved  the  power 
to  grant  further  powers  to  the  corporation,  or  to  alter,  limit,  annul,  or  restrain  any 
of  those  vested  by  the  act  of  incorporation,  as  should  be  found  necessary  to  promote 
the  best  interests  of  the  college,  "and  may  appoint  overseers  or  visitors  of  said 
college,  with  all  necessary  powers  for  the  better  aid,  preservation  and  government 
thereof;  and  the  said  corporation  shall  make  an  annual  report  of  its  condition, 
financial  and  otherwise  to  the  Legislature  at  the  opening  of  its  session." 

From  the  foregoing  review  of  the  salient  features  of  the  charter  it  is  apparent 
that  this  corporation  was  created  solely  and  expressly  to  enable  the  state  to  have 
the  benefit  of  the  appropriation  under  the  Morrill  Act  of  1862.  By  accepting  the 
provisions  of  that  act  the  state  became  the  owner  of  the  fund  arising  from  the  sale 
of  its  allotment  of  land  scrip,  and  the  interest  thereon,  in  trust,  however,  for  the 
purposes  named  in  the  act.  The  state  could  authorize  the  expenditure  of  only  one- 
tenth  of  the  fund  itself,  and  that  only  for  the  purchase  of  a  site  or  farm.  Beyond 
this,  only  the  interest  received  could  be  used.  Except  as  to  the  said  one-tenth,  the 
capital  of  the  fund  is  to  remain  forever  undiminished,  and  if  any  portion  thereof, 
or  of  the  interest  thereon,  be  diminished  or  lost,  it  must  be  replaced  by  the  state. 

By  the  act  of  incorporation  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College  was  created  as  an 
instrumentality  of  the  state  for  the  better  and  more  efiicient  administration  of  the 
trust. 

In  the  sense  that  "the  first  gift  of  the  revenues  is  the  foundation,  and  he  who 
gives  them  is  in  law  the  founder,"  the  state  was  the  founder.  The  fact  that  by  the 
charter  the  expenditure  of  said  one-tenth  of  the  principal  fund  towards  the  purchase 
of  a  site  or  farm,  was  with  the  proviso  that  the  trustees  should  determine  to  procure 
such  farm,  and  with  the  further  proviso  that  the  college  should  first  secure,  by  sub- 


82  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

scription  or  otherwise,  the  further  sum  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  buildings  thereon,  etc.,  did  not  operate  to  make 
the  foundation  different.  The  act  fairly  contemplated  that  the  trustees  might  not 
determine  to  procure  such  farm,  in  which  event  no  authority  was  given  for  the 
expenditure  of  any  part  of  the  principal  fund,  and  the  second  proviso  would  not 
become  active.  Nor  did  the  provision  in  the  charter  that  "This  act  shall  be  in 
operation  until  said  corporation  shall  have  procured  valid  and  solvent  subscriptions, 
to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  be  applied  to  the  endowment 
or  other  uses  of  said  college;  and  said  corporation  shall  cease  to  exist  on  the  15th 
day  of  November,  1865,  unless  the  foregoing  subscription  shall  have  been  obtained," 
make  the  foundation  different.  Thereby  the  act  was  in  force  and  the  corporation 
in  existence  for  nearly  a  year,  but  it  should  cease  at  the  specified  time  unless  the 
thing  should  have  been  done, — a  condition  subsequent,  not  affecting  the  original 
foundation,  but  a  contribution  for  the  purpose  of  it. 

All  of  the  property  seized  and  possessed  by  the  corporation  was  to  be  held  in 
trust  for,  and  to  be  appropriated  to,  the  use  of  the  institution  in  such  manner  as 
should  most  effectually  promote  the  declared  objects  thereof,  and  in  event  of  the 
dissolution  of  the  corporation,  it  was  to  revert  and  belong  to  the  state,  for  the  same 
purpose  in  effect  that  the  funds  from  the  general  government  are  owned  by  the 
state.  Yet  this  revertive  provision,  except  as  to  real  estate,  does  not  materially 
differ  from  the  general  doctrine  pertaining  to  public  or  charitable  corporations. 
"As  to  these,"  says  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  Late  Corporations  of 
Latter-Day  Saints  against  United  States,  136th  of  the  United  States  Reports,  1, 
"the  ancient  and  established  rule  prevails,  namely:  that  when  a  corporation  is  dis- 
solved, its  personal  property,  like  that  of  a  man  dying  without  heirs,  ceases  to  be  the 
subject  of  private  ownership,  and  becomes  subject  to  the  disposal  of  the  sovereign 
authority;  whilst  its  real  estate  reverts  or  escheats  to  the  grantor  or  donor,  unless 
some  other  course  of  devolution  has  been  directed  by  positive  law,  though  still 
subject,  *  *  *  to  the  charitable  use." 

Under  the  terms  of  the  charter,  the  visitatorial  powers  in  the  state  are  broad 
enough  to  give  her,  as  at  common  law  in  the  case  of  public  eleemosynary  corpora- 
tions, the  sole  right  to  inspect,  regulate,  control,  and  direct  the  corporation,  and 
its  funds  and  franchises. 

The  charter  also  contains  elements  more  particularly  indicating  that  the  corpora- 
tion is  private  in  character,  and  authorities  are  found  supporting  this  view,  yet  on 
the  whole  the  Commission  is  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  this  corporation  is  public, 
and  it  is  so  treated  in  the  consideration  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State 
Agricultural  College,  which  follows. 

In  November,  1865,  the  University  of  Vermont  and  the  Vermont  Agricultural 
College  consolidated  in  the  formation  of  a  new  corporation  by  the  name  of  the 
"University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,"  under  an  Act  of  the 
General  Assembly,  approved  November  9,  1865,  "for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out 


ITS  CHARACTER  83 

the  objects  contemplated  in  their  respective  charters,"  and  as  such  to  be  and  remain 
a  body  corporate  forever,  with  power  to  hold  and  convey  real  and  personal  estate, 
to  have  a  common  seal,  and  all  the  rights  and  powers  incident  to  corporations. 
The  trustees  of  each  of  the  constituent  corporations,  before  a  given  day,  were  to 
elect  nine  of  their  number,  who,  with  their  successors,  should  thereafter  constitute 
a  part  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  likewise  constitute  a  part  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  new  corporation,  and  all  the  trustees  so  elected,  together  with  the  governor 
of  the  state  and  the  president,  ex  officio  members,  were  made  to  constitute  the  entire 
board  of  trustees  of  that  corporation,  who  should  have  the  entire  management  and 
control  of  its  property  and  affairs,  and  in  all  things  relating  thereto,  except  in  the 
elections  to  fill  vacancies,  act  together  jointly,  as  one  entire  board  of  trustees.  It 
was  made  the  duty  of  the  said  nine  trustees  of  the  University  of  Vermont  to  elect 
successors  to  fill  any  vacancy  occurring  among  their  number.  The  nine  trustees 
of  the  said  Agricultural  College  were  to  be  divided  into  three  classes,  of  three  mem- 
bers each,  the  terms  of  office  by  classes  being  two,  four,  and  six  years,  respectively,. 
all  vacancies  therein,  by  expiration  of  the  term  or  otherwise,  to  be  filled  by  the 
legislature,  the  term  of  office  to  continue  six  years.  The  board  of  trustees  of  the 
consolidated  corporation  was  vested  with  power  to  confer  honors  and  degrees;  to 
elect  all  officers,  including  president,  secretary,  treasurer,  professors  and  instructors, 
and  prescribe  their  duties,  salaries,  and  term.s  of  office;  to  make  by-laws  and  regula- 
tions for  the  government  of  themselves  and  others  connected  with  the  institution, 
not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  the  consolidating  act.  By  that  Act  the 
property  of  each  of  the  constituent  corporations  became  the  property  of  the  new 
corporation,  and  thus  combined,  constituted  its  entire  property,  to  use,  control,  sell, 
or  dispose  of,  subject  to  the  payment  of  existing  debts  of  the  constituent  corpora- 
tions, and  subject  to  any  trust,  duties,  and  obligations  connected  therewith;  and  the 
new  corporation  was  given  the  same  rights  in  respect  to  the  college  lands  in 
this  state,  and  to  the  rents,  uses  and  benefits  thereof,  as  the  University  of  Vermont 
previously  had. 

The  trustees  of  the  new  corporation  were  empowered  to  obtain  by  gift,  grant,  or 
otherwise,  a  tract  of  land,  which,  together  with  the  land  then  owned  by  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont,  should  amount  to  at  least  one  hundred  acres,  to  be  used  as  an  ex~ 
perimental  farm;  and  in  case  said  land  should  be  procured,  as  aforesaid,  a  sum  not 
exceeding  one-tenth  of  the  money  received  for  the  sale  of  the  land  scrip  by  the  state 
treasurer,  in  pursuance  of  the  Act  of  Congress  authorizing  the  same,  was  to  be  paid 
to  said  board  of  trustees  for  the  purposes  aforesaid;  with  a  proviso  not  here  material. 
And  whenever  the  new  corporation  should  have  been  duly  organized,  there  was  to 
be  appropriated  and  paid  to  its  treasurer  annually,  for  the  purposes  mentioned  in 
that  act,  the  interest  or  the  income  received  from  the  fund  created  under  and  by 
virtue  of  said  Act  of  Congress. 

The  consolidation  statute  was  to  take  effect  whenever  the  two  constituent  cor- 
porations should  vote  to  accept  the  same,  and  to  surrender  and  relinquish  to  the 


84  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

corporation  thereby  created  "all  the  property  belonging  to  them,  whether  real  or 
personal,  and  all  the  rents,  profits  and  income  therefrom  arising,  including  said 
proceeds  from  the  sale  of  said  land  scrip,  for  the  purpose,  and  subject  to  all  the 
rights,  trusts  and  conditions  as  in  this  act  provided."  By  it  a  copy  of  the  record  of 
the  vote  of  acceptance  by  each  of  the  constituent  corporations  was  to  be  recorded 
in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State;  "whereupon,  by  virtue  of  such  votes,  such 
property,  rents,  profits  and  income,  shall  become  the  property  of  the  corporation 
hereby  created,  for  the  purposes,  and  subject  to  the  rights,  trusts  and  conditions 
aforesaid,  and  said  property,  and  the  property  hereafter  acquired  by  the  corpor- 
ation hereby  created,  shall  be  subject  to  all  the  conditions,  immunities  and  exeni])- 
tions  now  pertaining  to  the  property  now  held  by  said  University  of  Vermont"; 
and  by  it  all  provisions  inconsistent  therewith,  contained  in  the  act  establishing 
the  Vermont  Agricultural  College,  were  repealed. 

All  votes  were  taken  and  records  made  that  were  essential  to  the  taking  effect 
of  the  Act  of  consolidation,  and  to  the  vesting  of  the  property,  rents,  profits,  and 
income  of  the  constituent  corporations,  in  the  new  corporation,  for  the  purposes, 
and  subject  to  the  rights,  trusts,  and  conditions  before  named. 

The  new  corporation  was  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  legislature  of  their  con- 
dition, financial  and  otherwise,  and  make  and  distribute  the  reports  required  by 
the  Act  of  Congress  therein  referred  to;  and  the  legislature  reserved  the  right  to 
appoint  annually  "a  board  of  visitors,  who  may  annually  examine  the  affairs  of  said 
corporation." 

The  Act  of  consolidation  further  provides,  in  effect,  that  in  case  the  new  corpora- 
tion shall  be  dissolved,  the  Supreme  Court  may  order  and  decree  that  the  income 
thereafter  to  be  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  said  land  scrip,  together 
with  such  amount  as  may  have  been  paid  over  by  the  state  treasurer  for  the  purpose 
of  an  experimental  farm,  shall  revert  to  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College,  and  the 
property  and  effects  which  belonged  to  the  University  of  Vermont  at  the  time  of 
the  union,  shall  revert  to,  and  be  the  property  of,  that  institution;  and  any  property 
or  funds  thereafter  acquired  by  the  new  corporation,  shall  be  awarded  and  dis- 
tributed to  the  constituent  corporations  in  such  manner  as  the  court  shall  deem 
just  and  equitable,  having  reference  to  the  manner  the  same  was  acquired,  and  to 
any  specific  trusts,  or  expressed  intention  of  any  donors,  then  made;  and  for  such 
and  all  other  purposes  the  constituent  corporations  shall  be  deemed  and  treated  as 
having  continued  in  life. 

As  before  seen,  the  corporation  of  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College  by  its  charter 
would  cease  to  exist  on  November  15,  1865,  unless  it  had  then  procured  valid  and 
solvent  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,  to  be  applied  to  the  endowment 
or  other  uses  of  the  college.  On  November  9,  1865,  six  days  before  the  expiration 
of  the  time  thus  allowed,  the  consolidation  Act  was  passed.  Notwithstanding  that 
corporation  had  made  great  effort  to  comply  with  the  provision  of  its  charter  in 

is  respect,  they  secured  by  pledge  only  $17,000.     It  hardly  seems  necessary  to 


ITS  CHARACTER  85 

mention  in  this  connection  the  fact  that  no  part  of  the  principal  of  the  Federal  fund, 
nor  of  the  income  thereof,  ever  went  into  the  hands  of  that  institution — it  remained 
with  the  treasurer  of  the  State  of  Vermont.  A  report  of  the  trustees  of  the  Ver- 
mont Agricultural  College  under  date  of  October  19,  1865,  to  the  governor  of  the 
state,  recommending  consolidation  with  the  University  of  Vermont,  contains  a 
statement  showing  the  property  of  the  University  of  Vermont  at  that  time,  "as 
represented  by  its  Treasurer,  and  by  others  whose  judgment  may  be  relied  upon," 
to  be  in  the  aggregate  $167,500,  with  an  indebtedness  of  $16,183,  leaving  $151,317, 
of  which  about  $13,000  was  held  in  trust  for  purposes  of  specific  instruction. 

Considering  the  $17,000  pledged  by  subscription  to  the  Vermont  Agricultural 
College  as  available  under  the  consolidation,  the  property  owned  by  the  constituent 
corporations,  and  which  under  the  Act  of  consolidation  became  the  property  of  the 
new  corporation,  was  as  follows :  the  University  of  Vermont  (deducting  for  indebted- 
ness), $151,317;  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College,  $17,000,  with  the  provision 
that  it  should  receive  the  benefit  of  the  P^ederal  fund  in  case  of  compliance  with  the 
conditions  of  its  charter  in  that  respect.  Whether  there  was  a  likelihood  of  such  a 
compliance,  it  is  unnecessary  to  consider;  for  treating  that  corporation  as  public 
in  character  (which  we  have  before  indicated  would  be  done) ,  it  was  but  the  State 
of  Vermont  acting  through  its  instrumentality — its  agent  expressly  created,  as 
before  seen — to  enable  the  state  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  Federal  appropriation. 
Such  being  the  character  and  the  purpose  of  that  corporation,  the  consolidation 
was  of  two  corporations,  namely,  the  University  of  Vermont,  a  private  institution, 
and  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College,  a  public  institution  and  the  instrumentality 
of  the  state.  This  position  is  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  by  the  Act  of  consolida- 
tion, instead  of  the  new  corporation  being  left  to  take  the  benefit  of  the  Federal 
funds  through  the  constituent  corporation,  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College,  pro- 
visions were  inserted  whereby  the  new  corporation  should  receive  the  benefit  of 
those  funds  by  virtue  of  its  own  charter,  from  the  state  direct,  and  provisions  con- 
tained in  the  charter  of  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College  inconsistent  with  the 
Act  of  consolidation,  were  by  the  latter  expressly  repealed. 

Such  being  in  law  the  character  of  the  two  constituent  corporations  and  the 
status  of  their  respective  properties,  the  consolidation  Act  was  to  enable  the 
University  of  Vermont  and  the  State  of  Vermont  to  carry  out  the  arrangement  made 
between  them  by  organizing  a  new  corporation,  the  foundation  of  which  should 
consist  of  the  combined  properties  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  of  the  State 
of  Vermont,  as  represented  by  its  instrumentality,  the  Vermont  Agricultural 
College. 

This  brings  the  matter  well  within  the  principle  laid  down  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  in  the  case  of  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  against  The 
Planters'  Bank  of  Georgia,  (in  9th  of  W  heaton,  page  907,)  before  noticed.  That  the 
doctrine  there  enunciated  may  be  clearly  in  mind,  we  venture  to  quote  again  the 
following  from  the  opinion  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall : 


86  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

"It  is,  we  think,  a  sound  principle,  that  when  a  government  becomes  a  partner 
in  any  trading  company,  it  devests  itself,  so  far  as  concerns  the  transactions  of  that 
company,  of  its  sovereign  character,  and  takes  that  of  a  private  citizen.  Instead  of 
communicating  to  the  company  its  privileges  and  its  prerogatives,  it  descends  to  a 
level  with  those  with  whom  it  associates  itself,  and  takes  the  character  which  belongs 
to  its  associates,  and  to  the  business  which  is  to  be  transacted."  Also  from  the 
case  of  Regents  of  the  University  of  Maryland  against  \Mlliams,  (in  9  of  Gill  and 
Johnson,  page  365,  and  in  31  of  American  Decisions,  page  72,) :  "And  all  the  authori- 
ties agree  that  colleges  and  academies  established  for  the  promotion  of  learning 
and  piety,  and  endowed  with  property  by  public  and  private  donations,  are,  in  a 
legal  sense,  equally  with  hospitals  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  sick,  etc.,  considered 
and  treated  as  private  eleemosynary  corporations." 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  same  principle  was  applied  in  the  case  of  Downing 
against  the  Indiana  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  held  by  the  highest  court  of  Indiana 
to  be  in  a  sense  an  educational  institution;  and  that  it  was  recognized  as  sound  in 
the  case  of  Thomas  against  the  Industrial  University,  an  educational  institution, 
though  not  there  applicable, — to  both  of  which  cases  attention  was  called  in  our 
discussion  of  the  University  of  Vermont. 

Applying  this  law,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  character  of  the  foundation  of 
the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College.  Notwithstanding  it 
was  mixed,  in  that  it  came  in  part  from  a  private  source,  the  University  of  Vermont, 
and  in  part  from  a  public  source,  the  state,  therein  the  state  takes  the  character 
which  belongs  to  its  private  associate,  the  University  of  Vermont.  The  University 
of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  then,  as  respects  its  foundation,  is  a 
private  corporation. 

This  seems  to  be  as  contemplated  by  the  consolidation  Act,  for  therein  it  is 
provided,  regarding  the  property,  rents,  profits,  and  income  derived  by  the  new 
corporation  from  the  constituent  corporations,  and  the  property  thereafter  acquired 
by  it,  that  it  "shall  be  subject  to  all  the  conditions,  immunities  and  exemptions  now 
pertaining  to  the  property  now  held  by  said  University  of  Vermont" — thus  putting 
all  the  property  of  the  new  institution,  whether  derived  from  the  public,  or  from 
the  private,  constituent  corporation,  or  from  future  acquisitions,  in  the  same 
position  as  to  conditions,  immunities,  and  exemptions,  as  the  property  held  by  the 
private  constituent  corporation,  rather  than  as  the  property  held  by  the  public 
constituent  corporation. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  disposition  of  the  property  to  be  made  in  case  of  a  dis- 
solution of  the  new  corporation,  is  indicative  in  the  same  direction — it  shows  that 
of  the  property  at  the  time  of  the  consolidation,  only  the  trust  funds  received  by 
the  state  from  the  general  government  revert  to  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College, 
in  effect,  to  the  state. 

The  provision  in  the  charter,  that  "the  Legislature  may  annually  appoint  a  board 
of  visitors,  who  may  annually  examine  the  affairs  of  said  corporation,"  amounts  to 


ITS  CHARACTER  87 

no  more  than  giving  the  right  of  inspection,  which  in  law  is  very  different  from,  and 
falls  far  short  of,  visitatorial  powers  at  common  law.  This  is  shown  clearly  by  the 
case  of  Guthrie  against  Harkness,  found  in  lOOth  of  United  States  Reports,  page 
148.  There,  Harkness,  the  defendant  in  error,  was  the  owner  of  a  part  of  the 
capital  stock  of  a  certain  national  bank.  As  such  shareholder  he  applied  for  leave 
to  inspect  the  books,  accounts,  and  loans  of  the  bank,  which  was  refused  him.  He 
sought  such  inspection  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  true  financial  condition 
of  the  bank,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  his  stock  in  said 
bank,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  business  affairs  of  the 
bank  had  been  conducted  according  to  law.  It  was  argued  on  the  part  of  the 
directors  of  the  bank  that  such  right  of  inspection  was  cut  off  by  a  certain  section 
of  the  United  States  statute,  providing  that  "no  association  shall  be  subject  to 
any  visitorial  powers  other  than  such  as  are  authorized  by  this  title,  or  are  vested 
in  the  courts  of  justice."  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  said  there 
could  be  no  question  that  the  decisive  weight  of  American  authority  recognizes 
the  common-law  right  of  the  shareholder,  for  proper  purposes  and  under  reasonable 
regulations  as  to  place  and  time,  to  inspect  the  books  of  the  corporation  of  which 
he  is  a  member,  quoting  from  a  work  on  private  corporations,  which  says,  "How- 
ever, in  the  United  States  the  prevailing  doctrine  appears  to  be  that  the  individual 
shareholders  in  a  corporation  have  the  same  right  as  the  members  of  an  ordinary 
partnership  to  examine  their  company's  books,  although  they  have  no  power  to 
interfere  with  the  company's  management."  After  defining  and  discussing  visita- 
tion in  law,  the  court  said: 

"In  no  case  or  authority  that  we  have  been  able  to  find  has  there  been  a  defini- 
tion of  this  right  which  would  include  the  private  right  of  the  shareholder  to  have 
an  examination  of  the  business  in  which  he  is  interested,  and  the  right  of  discovery 
of  the  methods  and  means  by  which  the  agents  of  the  corporation  are  conducting 
its  affairs." 

It  was  held  that  the  shareholder  was  wrongfully  denied  an  inspection  of  the 
books  and  accounts  of  the  bank. 

It  cannot  well  be  said  that  in  law  this  board  of  visitors  has  other  powers 
than  that  stated  in  the  provision  quoted  from  the  Act  of  consolidation;  for  the 
legal  maxim  here  applicable  is,  that  "the  express  mention  of  one  thing  implies  the 
exclusion  of  another." 

By  the  Act  of  consolidation,  visitatorial  powers  are  vested  in  the  trustees: 
they  are  given  "the  entire  management  and  control  of  its  property  and  affairs." 

Is  that  Act  a  grant  of  political  power?  Other  than  the  governor,  who  is  made 
ex  officio  trustee,  the  trustees  of  the  new  corporation  are  not  political  officers  vested 
with  any  portion  of  political  power,  to  be  exercised  for  purposes  connected  with 
the  public  good  in  the  administration  of  civil  government,  nor  do  they  perform 
duties  which  flow  from,  or  in  any  way  pertain  to,  the  sovereign  authority.  Neither 
their  services,  nor  the  services  of  the  professors,  are  paid  for  by  the  state.     The 


88  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

property  of  the  corporation  is  not  public  property.  So  far  as  it  was  given  by  the 
state,  it  cannot  be  resumed,  except  as  such  right  may  be  reserved  in  the  charter. 
The  state  alone  is  not  interested  in  the  transactions  of  the  institution.  And  the 
corporation  is  given  a  capacity  to  take,  hold,  and  convey  real  and  personal  estate 
for  objects  not  connected  with  the  government.  Professor  John  F.  Dillon  (in 
his  work  on  Municipal  Corporations,  section  54,)  says,  "Corporations  are  public 
only  when,  in  the  language  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  'the  ivhole  interests  and  fran- 
chises are  the  exclusive  property  and  domain  of  the  government  itself.'  " 

It  is  said,  however,  that  nine  of  the  trustees  are  elected  by  the  joint  assembly; 
and  that  since  the  governor  and  the  president  are  ex  officio  trustees,  (the  latter 
being  elected  by  the  board,)  the  control  of  the  institution  is  always  with  the  state. 
Granting  that,  considering  numbers  alone,  such  a  conclusion  may  be  reached, 
no  argument  is  needed  to  convince  any  unprejudiced  mind  that  in  practical  opera- 
tion the  control  of  the  institution  is  not  with  the  state.  In  the  opinion  of  the  Com- 
mission, the  fact  that  under  the  Act  of  consolidation  this  institution  is  given  the 
power  to  take  charge  of,  lease,  rent,  and  appropriate  to  its  use  and  benefit,  the 
college  lands,  granted  under  the  authority  of  the  state  for  specified  purposes,  and 
the  fact  that  the  institution  is  given,  by  the  state,  the  benefit  of  funds  owned  and 
held  by  the  state,  under  appropriations  from  the  general  government,  in  trust  for 
the  purposes  named  in  the  Act  of  appropriation,  for  the  safeguarding  of  which 
the  state  is  responsible,  constitute  a  good  and  sufficient  reason  for  the  method 
adopted  in  making  up  the  board  of  trustees  in  the  first  instance,  and  in  filling 
subsequent  vacancies  therein,  and  for  requiring  annual  reports  from  the  corpora- 
tion of  their  condition  to  the  legislature,  and  for  the  distribution  of  reports  as  re- 
quired by  the  Act  of  Congress,  and  for  the  reservation  of  power  to  appoint  "a 
board  of  visitors,"  having  the  limited  power  before  discussed. 

We  call  attention  to  a  decision  much  in  point,  by  the  highest  court  of  the  State 
of  Illinois,  (in  Board  of  Education  against  Greenebaum  and  Sons,  found  in  39  of 
Illinois  Reports,  page  609,)  involving  the  character  of  an  institution  of  learning 
in  that  state.  There  the  legislature  passed  an  Act,  the  preamble  of  which  recites 
a  compact  between  the  state  and  the  United  States,  by  which  a  certain  percentage 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  public  lands  lying  in  the  state,  were  set  apart  to  the 
state  to  be  appropriated  by  the  legislature  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  of 
which  one-sixth  was  to  be  bestowed  exclusively  upon  the  college  or  university. 
It  then  speaks  more  particularly  regarding  the  amount  of  that  fund  and  the  interest 
on  it  up  to  a  certain  date;  and  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  intention  of 
Congress  and  the  understanding  of  the  people,  the  legislature  passed  the  Act  estab- 
lishing the  "Normal  University,"  the  governor  of  the  state  being  required  to  issue 
stock  to  the  amount  named,  (a  part  of  the  interest  of  this  fund,)  payable  to  the 
board  of  education  for  the  use  of  the  Normal  University.  From  this  legislation 
the  board  of  education  insisted  that  the  property  of  the  Normal  University  was 
the  property  of  the  state,  in  which  the  corporation  had  no  interest;  that  it  was 


ITS  CHARACTER  89 

created  for  certain  public  purposes  in  which  the  whole  state  had  an  interest,  and 
certain  rights  accrued  to  each  county  in  the  state;  that  the  governor,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  appointed  the  trustees  who  composed  the 
corporation;  that  the  superintendent  of  public  instruction  was  ex  officio  a  member  of 
the  board  and  secretary  thereof,  whose  duty  it  was  to  report  to  the  legislature  the 
condition  and  expenditures  of  the  university;  that  the  corporation  was  a  mere 
trustee  or  agent  of  the  state  to  carry  out  the  wishes  and  intention  of  the  legislature 
and  its  property  could  only  be  used  for  corporate  purposes.  The  Normal  Univer- 
sity was  held  to  be  a  private  corporation;  and  regarding  the  method  of  appoint- 
ing trustees  and  the  requirement  for  reports  to  the  legislature,  the  court  said: 

"The  reason  that  the  legislature  reserved  the  appointment  of  the  trustees  was» 
doubtless,  because  it  had  placed  in  their  keeping  a  fund  of  which  the  state  was  but 
a  trustee,  and  merely  responsible  for  its  proper  application,  and  over  it  a  special 
custodian  was  placed,  in  the  person  of  the  superintendent  of  public  instruction, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  make  reports  to  the  legislature  of  the  condition  and  expendi- 
tures of  the  university,  and  as  some  equivalent  for  this  deposit  of  trust  money, 
the  state  claimed  and  receives  the  gratuitous  instruction  of  two  pupils  from  each 
county,  and  for  as  many  more  as  the  whole  number  of  representatives  in  the  legis- 
lature might  amount  to,  in  the  several  representative  districts.  These  pupils, 
it  is  understood,  defray  all  their  expenses,  except  for  tuition,  and  are  in  no  sense 
charity  scholars,  fed  and  provided  at  the  expense  of  the  state." 

By  No.  105,  Acts  of  1892,  it  was  enacted:  "No  trustee,  director  or  supervisor 
of  any  state  institution,  except  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College,  shall  be  employed  in  any  capacity  in  such  institution;  and  in  case  any 
such  officer  shall  accept  employment  in  a  state  institution  of  which  he  is  a  trustee, 
director  or  supervisor,  his  office  shall  be  vacant."  And  it  is  claimed  by  those 
representing  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  before  this 
Commission,  that  thereby  the  legislature  in  effect  declared  that  corporation  to 
be  a  state  institution.  But  such  a  legislative  declaration  (if  it  can  properly  be  so 
characterized)  can  have  no  force  in  determining  the  character  of  the  institution. 
On  February  28,  1867,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois  passed  an  Act 
declaring  "The  State  Normal  University,"  an  institution  in  that  state,  then  ten 
years  in  existence,  to  be  a  state  institution,  and  the  property  in  the  hands  and 
standing  in  the  name  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  to  be  the 
property  of,  and  by  said  board  held  in  trust  for,  the  state. 

In  the  case  of  The  Board  of  Education  of  the  State  of  Illinois  against  Bakewell, 
found  in  Vol.  122  of  Illinois  Reports,  page  339,  the  court  of  last  resort  in  that  state 
said:  "What  appellant  indeed  was,  in  the  respect  of  being  a  state  institution  or 
a  private  corporation,  depended  upon  what  the  charter  of  its  creation  made  it 
to  be,  and  not  what  the  legislature  may  have,  at  some  time  afterward,  considered 
it  to  be.  *  *  *  The  declaration  of  the  Act  of  1867,  that  the  State  Normal  University 
was  a  state  institution,  and  that  the  property  of  appellant  was  the  property  of  the 


-90  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

State  of  Illinois,  stood  a  mere  harmless  declaration  upon  the  statute  book,  having 
no  effect." 

In  1886  the  case  of  Willard  against  Pike  (found  in  59  of  Vermont  Reports,  page 
202,)  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state.  The  judges  who  sat  in  the 
case  were  Homer  E.  Royce,  Chief  Judge,  H.  Henry  Powers,  Wheelock  G.  Veazey, 
Russell  S.  Taft,  John  W.  Rowell,  and  William  H.  Walker,  Assistant  Judges.  The 
opinion  in  the  case  was  written  by  Judge  Veazey.  There  the  question  was  as  to 
the  validity  of  a  tax  assessed  in  St.  Johnsbury,  against  the  plaintiff.  It  appeared 
that  the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy  owned  a  large  boarding  house,  the  rent  or  income 
of  which  was  used  for  general  expenses  of  the  academy;  that  it  owned  a  "club 
house,"  partly  rented  and  partly  occupied  by  a  club  of  scholars;  that  it  owned  also 
a  house  on  Main  Street  known  as  "Warner  House,"  which  had  brought  the  academy 
no  rent,  but  was  kept  as  a  part  of  the  academy  property.  The  county  court  ruled 
that  the  Warner  House,  the  club  house,  and  the  boarding  house  were  properly 
'Omitted  from  the  list,  and  that  they  were  exempt,  as  matter  of  law,  from  taxation. 
The  plaintiff  contended  that  this  was  error,  because  the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy 
was  a  private,  and  not  a  public,  corporation.  The  statute  provided  that  "Real  or 
personal  estate  granted,  sequestered,  or  used  for  public,  pious  or  charitable  uses; 
*  *  *  and  lands  owned  or  leased  by  colleges,  academies,  or  other  public  schools," 
should  be  exempt  from  taxation.  Counsel  for  the  plaintiff'  made  the  point  in  their 
brief  presented  to  the  Supreme  Court,  that  the  academy,  boarding  house,  club 
house,  etc.,  were  not  exempt  from  taxation,  because  the  corporation  was  purely 
a  private  one,  and  in  no  sense  public.  The  question  being  thus  presented  in 
argument,  the  court  said : 

"We  do  not  think  the  words  'or  other  public  schools'  were  intended  to  be  restric- 
tive of  what  precedes.  Colleges  and  academies  are,  in  popular  understanding, 
public  institutions,  although  not  public  in  the  sense  as  applied  to  our  common 
schools,  which  are  supported  by  public  taxation  and  are  free  to  the  public  without 
charge  to  the  pupils. 

"The  word  'public'  in  this  statute,  we  hold,  is  not  to  be  construed  in  the  latter 
sense,  but  in  the  sense  in  which  academies  are  regarded  as  public  institutions.  It 
is  not  restrictive  of  what  precedes,  but  is  explained  thereby;  that  is,  public  in  the 
sense  in  which  colleges  and  academies  are  public. 

"No  colleges  or  academies  in  this  state  are  yet  free  to  the  public  like  our  public 
schools;  neither  are  they  public  corporations;  therefore  if  the  legislature  intended 
by  the  phrase,  'lands  owned  or  leased  by  colleges,  academies,  or  other  public  schools,' 
only  such  colleges  and  academies  as  were  free  to  the  public  without  charge  for 
tuition,  or  as  were  purely  and  technically  public  corporations  like  municipalities, 
the  legislation  was  simply  idle  *  *  *.  When  a  college  or  academy  is  incorporated 
wholly  for  the  purposes  of  general  education,  and  is  so  operated  without  any  capital 
stock  or  purpose  of  profit,  and  tuition  is  charged  only  for  its  maintenance,  then 
it  is  devoted  to  public  use." 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  91 

It  is  clear  that  the  court  in  that  case  draws  a  distinction  between  the  property 
of  a  private  corporation  being  devoted  to  a  pul)Hc  use,  and  the  corporation  itself 
being  public.  No  one  will  seriously  question  but  that  the  property  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  is  to  the  extent  mentioned  in  this 
opinion,  devoted  to  a  public  use,  but  none  the  less  the  corporation  remains  private. 
This  distinction  is  the  same  as  appears  between  the  holding  in  the  Dartmouth 
College  case,  as  first  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire,  and  as 
subsequently  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  the  former 
holding  that  the  use  of  the  property  being  public,  the  corporation  was  public;  the 
latter  holding  that  the  use,  although  public,  was  not  determinative  of  the  character 
of  the  corporation;  and  if  a  corporation  is  public,  it  is  so  in  the  strict  legal  sense,  and 
not  merely  in  the  popular  sense. 

The  case  of  Scott  against  St.  Johnsbury  Academy  and  Trustees,  (decided  in  1912, 
and  found  in  the  86th  of  Vermont  Reports,  page  172,)  was  an  action  brought  to 
collect  taxes  assessed  on  certain  real  estate  belonging  to  the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy. 
Some  of  the  property  taxed  was  the  same  as  that  involved  in  the  case  of  ^Yilla^d 
against  Pike,  above  noticed.  Regarding  it,  the  court  said:  "We  cannot  hold  this 
property  to  be  taxable,  without  rejecting  the  conclusions  of  that  case, — which  we 
are  unwilling  to  do." 

Without  pursuing  the  discussion  of  the  question  further,  the  Commission  is 
clearly  of  the  opinion  that  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College 
is  a  private,  not  a  public,  corporation,  and  it  so  determines. 


2.  Use  of  Federal  Appropriations 

Some  question  has  arisen  whether  disbursement  of  the  annual  appropriations 
from  the  general  government  received  by  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State 
Agricultural  College,  has  been  in  accordance  with  the  rights,  duties,  and  obliga- 
tions of  that  institution,  and  it  is  one  of  the  matters  presented  to  this  Commission. 
The  answer  thereto  depends  upon  whether  the  expenditures  have  been  only  for  the 
purposes  contemplated  in  the  trusts,  and  have  conformed  to  the  provisions  of  the 
trusts  in  their  true  spirit,  intent,  and  meaning.  This  question  is  one  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  people  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  and  it  requires  consideration  of  the 
Federal  Acts  of  appropriation  and  of  the  charter  under  which  the  institution  was 
organized  and  is  acting,  in  the  light  of  such  aids  as  can  reasonably  be  said  to  have  a 
bearing  thereon. 

Under  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  July  2,  1862,  known  as  the  "Morrill  Act  of 
1862,"  this  state  received  as  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  land  scrip,  $135,500  to  be  applied 
to  the  uses  and  purposes  prescribed  in  that  Act,  "and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose 
whatsoever."  All  expense  incurred  in  the  management  and  disbursement  of  the 
moneys  so  received  is  to  be  paid  by  the  state  out  of  its  treasury,  so  that  the  whole 


92  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

sum,  without  diminution,  shall  be  appHed  to  the  purposes  named  therein.  These 
moneys  were  to  be  invested  in  stocks  yielding  not  less  than  five  per  centum  upon 
the  par  value  of  the  stocks,  and  the  moneys  so  invested  constitute  a  perpetual  fund, 
the  capital  of  which  shall  remain  forever  undiminished,  except,  if  authorized  by 
the  state,  one-tenth  thereof  could  be  expended  for  the  purchase  of  land  for  a  site 
or  experimental  farm.  No  portion  of  this  fund  nor  the  interest  thereon,  could  be 
applied  to  the  purchase,  erection,  preservation,  or  repair  of  any  building  or  buildings. 
The  interest  "shall  be  inviolably'  appropriated,  by  each  state  which  may  take  and 
claim  the  benefit  of  this  Act,  to  the  endowment,  support,  and  maintenance  of,  at 
least,  one  college,  where  the  leading  object  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scien- 
tific and  classical  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of 
learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  in  such  manner  as  the 
legislatures  of  the  states  may  respectively  prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal 
and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  pro- 
fessions in  life." 

In  plain  language,  so  far  as  this  Federal  Act  is  concerned,  the  "leading  object" 
of  the  college  shall  be  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts;  and  the  fact  that  these  branches  are  to  be  taught  "in  such 
manner  as  the  legislatures  of  the  states  may  respectively  prescribe,  in  order  to 
promote  the  liberal  and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several 
pursuits  and  professions  in  life,"  seems  to  make  it  quite  clear  that  discretionary 
power  was  vested  in  each  state,  ever  keeping  within  the  confines  of  the  Act,  to  lay 
down  a  rule  of  action,  guiding  and  directing  the  expenditure  of  the  moneys  by  the 
college  receiving  it,  in  a  manner  intended  to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical  educa- 
tion ol  the  industrial  classes  of  the  particular  state. 

The  charter  of  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College  states  the  "leading  object"  of 
the  institution  in  terms  like  those  of  the  Federal  Act  of  appropriation.  The  charter 
of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  provides  that  there 
shall  at  all  times  be  maintained  in  the  institution  thereby  created,  "such  instruction, 
in  the  various  branches  of  learning,  as  is  contemplated  in  the  several  charters  of 
each  of  the  institutions  hereby  united;  and  more  particularly  including  a  four  years' 
course  of  studies,  similar  to  such  as  are  generally  taught  in  other  colleges,  and  not 
inferior  to  that  recently  taught  in  said  University  of  Vermont,  and  in  addition  to 
that  which  is  usually  taught  in  other  colleges,  the  instruction  in  this  institution 
shall  include  such  enlarged  facilities,  and  extended  scope  and  variety  in  the  study 
of  those  branches  which  relate  to  military  tactics,  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts,  as  shall  render  the  whole  instruction  in  conformity  with  said  act  of  Congress, 
as  well  as  with  the  several  charters  aforesaid."  Thus  the  purpose  of  the  University 
of  Vermont,  as  declared  in  its  charter,  and  the  purpose  of  the  Vermont  Agricultural 
College,  as  declared  in  its  charter,  are  the  coordinating  purposes  of  the  University 
of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  as  declared  in  its  charter.  It  is  only  the 
coordinate  relating  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  that  falls  particularly 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  93 

within  the  contemplated  field  of  this  Commission.  In  this  connection  we  may 
notice  with  profit  an  address  delivered  by  W.  O.  Thompson,  president  of  Ohio  State 
University,  before  the  Seventeenth  Annual  Convention  of  the  Association  of 
American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations,  on  "The  Mission  of  the 
Land-Grant  Colleges."  This  address  was  sufiiciently  accurate  and  of  such  impor- 
tance that  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  reprinted  it  and  gave  it 
circulation  as  Bulletin  142.  Therein  discussing  the  "Morrill  Act  of  1862"  and 
undertaking  to  interpret  it  in  the  light  of  the  debate  in  Congress  which  led  to  its 
enactment,  President  Thompson  said : 

"Second.  This  statute  was  intended  to  introduce  new  lines  of  education.  It 
was  intended  to  provide  what  was  not  already  provided.  It  was  to  meet  the  need 
that  had  existed  but  hitherto  had  been  unrecognized.  This  statute  recognizes  the 
industrial  classes  in  the  field  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  as  substantially 
unprovided  for  beyond  the  opportunities  in  the  public  schools.  It  is  worthy  of 
note,  however,  that  at  the  date  of  this  statute  the  public  school  system  was  a  long 
way  from  its  present  eflSciency.  It  was  generally  conceded  that  the  wealthy  classes 
and  the  favored  classes  were  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  The  older  institutions 
were  somewhat  aristocratic  in  their  original  conception.  They  appealed  largely 
to  the  favored  classes  and  by  easy  processes  neglected  the  large  masses  of  the  people. 
This  statute  was  a  distinct  effort  to  extend  a  form  of  higher  education  to  a  class  of 
people  hitherto  unreached. 


"Fourth.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  statute  means  exactly  what  it  says, 
that  the  leading  object  of  these  colleges  shall  be  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. 
Precedence  is  always  to  be  given  to  these  subjects.  My  understanding  of  this  is 
that  they  were  to  be  chiefly  schools  of  applied  science.  The  existing  conditions  of 
the  country  demand,  of  course,  that  foundations  shall  be  laid  with  this  end  in  view. 
The  sciences  related  to  agriculture  and  the  sciences  related  to  mechanic  arts  are 
to  be  the  chief  subjects  of  instruction  and  investigation.  Underlying  the  whole 
conception  of  this  statute  and  running  through  the  entire  argument  that  was  made 
for  it  was  the  doctrine  that  the  pursuits  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  demanded 
specific  training  in  order  to  bring  about  the  highest  development  of  eflSciency  in  the 
industrial  classes  and  the  promotion  of  these  great  interests  in  the  country.  The 
statute  does  not  lose  sight  of  the  importance  of  other  forms  of  industry  or  of  labor, 
but  it  keeps  in  full  view  the  importance  of  these  fundamental  industries.  It 
emphasizes  in  these  colleges,  as  it  is  emphasized  nowhere  else,  the  importance  of 
this  type  of  education. 

"Fifth.  In  my  judgment  a  subordinate  place  is  given  in  this  statute  to  military 
tactics.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  subject  is  to  be  treated  unfairly  or  with  little 
respect;  but  that  the  organization  of  these  institutions  is  primarily  in  the  interest 
of  industry  and  not  of  war.     They  are  a  preparation  for  a  peaceful  life  rather  than 


94  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

for  strife.  I  understand  it,  therefore,  to  be  the  duty  or  the  mission,  if  we  prefer 
that  expression,  of  these  colleges  to  keep  faith  with  the  Government  in  both  par- 
ticulars. We  are  primarily  educational  institutions  of  the  industrial  sort  rather 
than  of  a  military  type.  We  recognize  to  the  fullest  extent  the  importance  of 
military  tactics,  but  the  precedence  of  these  institutions  is  not  given  to  military 
tactics.  My  own  interpretation  of  the  statute  is  that  general  science,  classical 
studies,  and  military  tactics  are  on  substantially  the  same  level.  They  occupy  a 
position  of  honor.  No  discredit  may  be  attached  to  any  of  them.  They  are  right- 
fully in  these  schools,  but  they  may  not  take  precedence  over  the  others." 

It  is  equally  instructive  to  notice  an  address  delivered  by  W.  J.  Kerr,  president 
of  the  Agricultural  College  of  Utah,  before  the  American  Agricultural  Colleges  and 
Experiment  Stations,  the  proceedings  of  which  were  printed  by  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  issued  as  Bulletin  No.  164.  Therein  President 
Kerr  said : 

"At  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Morrill  land-grant  act  in  1862  the  accepted 
type  of  higher  education  was  the  four  years'  course  of  the  old  classical  college.  The 
conventional  courses  in  classics,  literature,  and  philosophy  were  the  leading  features 
of  college  work.  The  State  universities  were  expected  to  be,  as  it  was  declared  in 
the  organic  act  that  they  should  be,  literary  institutions.  They  were  confined  for 
the  most  part  to  the  traditional  courses  of  the  time,  and  differed  little,  if  at  all, 
from  the  old  classical  institutions. 

"During  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  passage  of  this  act,  extending  over 
a  period  of  about  two  decades,  great  progress  was  made  in  the  development  of  the 
country,  and  there  was  an  increasing  consequent  demand  for  trained  men  for 
responsible  positions  in  the  different  industries.  As  stated  by  President  Dabney, 
'great  railroads  were  to  be  built,  but  with  the  exception  of  the  Military  Academy 
at  West  Point,  there  was  no  school  to  train  the  engineers  to  survey  them.  Mines 
of  coal  and  iron  were  to  be  opened,  but  miners  had  to  be  imported  to  open  them. 
Factories  needed  to  be  built,  but  engineers  had  to  be  brought  over  from  England 
or  Holland  to  build  them.  Ironworks  and  many  other  important  industries  were 
calling  loudly  for  chemists,  who  had  to  be  obtained  from  Germany  or  France.* 
Moreover,  the  impairment  of  the  natural  productiveness  of  the  soil,  the  deprecia- 
tion of  farm  crops,  and  the  resultant  general  deterioration  of  farm  properties  were 
earnestly  calling  for  the  remedial  applications  of  scientific  methods  in  agriculture. 
It  became  evident,  therefore,  that  the  old  college  was  not  meeting  the  new  demands. 
A  new  type  of  education  was  required,  an  education  bearing  more  directly  upon  the 
arts  of  life. 

"It  was  to  meet  these  particular  needs  of  the  people  in  the  development  of  a  new 
and  rapidly  growing  country  that  the  Morrill  Act  of  1862  was  passed.  Under  this 
act  nearly  11,000,000  acres  of  lands  were  granted  to  the  different  States  for  the  en- 
dowment of  colleges,  the  leading  objects  of  which  should  be  'to  promote  the  liberal 
and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  ])ro- 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  95 

fessions  of  life.'  As  explained  by  Senator  Morrill,  'the  fundamental  idea  was  to 
offer  an  opportunity  in  every  State  for  a  liberal  and  larger  education  to  larger 
numbers,  not  merely  to  those  destined  to  sedentary  professions,  but  to  those  much 
needing  higher  instruction  for  the  world's  business,  for  the  industrial  pursuits  and 
professions  of  life.'  It  is  clearly  evident  from  the  provisions  of  the  Morrill  Act, 
and  from  all  the  speeches  delivered  in  Congress  relating  thereto,  that  the  object 
was  to  provide  for  a  new  type  of  institutions,  occupying  a  distinctive  field  as  scien- 
tific, technical  colleges,  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  great  laboring  classes  in  the 
development  of  the  industries  and  resources  of  the  country.  But  it  is  also  to  be 
observed  that  a  liberal  as  well  as  a  technical  education  was  contemplated — an 
education  for  skill  and  efficiency,  but  for  culture  as  well.  The  purpose,  therefore, 
in  the  establishment  of  the  land-grant  colleges  was  to  provide  an  education,  to 
quote  again  from  Senator  Morrill,  which  'should  prove  useful  in  building  up  a  great 
nation — great  in  its  resources  of  wealth  and  power,  but  greatest  of  all  in  the  aggre- 
gate of  its  intelligence  and  virtue.'  " 

It  seems  to  the  Commission  that  the  addresses  of  President  Thompson  and 
President  Kerr,  from  which  the  above  quotations  are  made,  show  much  good  sense 
and  voice  the  right  spirit  respecting  the  Morrill  Act  of  18C*2,  and  the  manner 
(wholesome  indeed)  in  which  the  trust  should  be  administered  by  institutions 
receiving  the  benefit  of  the  funds  arising  under  it. 

It  appears  that  the  interest  received  annually  by  the  University  of  Vermont  and 
State  Agricultural  College  under  the  Federal  Grant  of  1862,  is  $8,130.  It  further 
appears  that  of  this  money,  $3,260  is  used  in  the  support  of  the  university  treasurer's 
office,  and  that  the  remaining  $4,870  is  used  under  the  policy  of  the  trustees  for  the 
benefit  of  the  general  educational  development  of  the  University. 

Under  its  charter  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  has 
coordinate  leading  objects,  one  being  (quoting  from  the  charter  of  the  Vermont 
Agricultural  College)  "to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  Agricul- 
ture and  the  Mechanic  arts,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  and  practical  education 
of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  professions  of  life."  With  no 
more  definiteness  in  either  the  Federal  Act  of  appropriation  or  the  charter  of  the 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  as  to  the  manner  of  admin- 
istering this  trust,  there  is  a  chance  for  much  liberty  of  action.  One  of  the  leading 
objects  of  the  institution  being  as  stated  above,  the  Commission  can  not  say  that 
the  use  made  of  the  interest  received  from  the  grant  named  was  not  in  substantial 
compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  trust. 

By  an  Act  of  Congress,  passed  in  1887,  there  was  established  under  direction  of 
the  college  or  colleges  or  agricultural  departments  of  colleges  in  each  state  or  terri- 
tory, estabhshed  under  the  "Morrill  Act  of  1862,"  a  department  to  be  known  and 
designated  as  an  "Agricultural  Experiment  Station."  The  object  and  duty  of 
experiment  stations  so  established,-  is  to  conduct  original  researches  or  verify  ex- 
periments on  the  subjects  pertaining  to  agriculture,  named  in  the  Act,  "and  such 


96  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

other  researches  or  experiments  bearing  directly  on  the  agricultural  industry  of  the 
United  States  as  may  in  each  case  be  deemed  advisable,  having  due  regard  to  the 
varying  conditions  and  needs  of  the  respective  States  or  Territories." 

This  Act  carried  to  each  state  an  appropriation  of  $15,000  per  annum.  In 
1906  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  further  endowment  of  such  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Stations,  carrying  an  appropriation  and  an  annual  increase  of  the  amount 
thereof  for  five  years,  with  the  annual  amount  thereafter  to  be  paid  to  each  state 
and  territory  of  $30,000. 

The  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  receives  under  this 
Act  of  1906,  $30,000  annually  for  the  purposes  specified  therein. 

The  Commission  believes  as  the  presumption  is,  nothing  appearing  to  the 
contrary,  that  this  money  has  been  and  is  being  expended  by  the  institution  in 
accordance  with  the  contemplation  of  the  Acts  of  appropriation. 

By  an  Act  of  Congress  approved  May  8,  1914,  an  appropriation  was  made 
of  $10,000  to  be  paid  annually  to  each  state  which  shall  assent  to  the  provisions 
of  that  Act,  and  also  an  additional  sum  for  each  fiscal  year  following  that  in  which 
the  foregoing  appropriation  first  becomes  available — all  as,  and  upon  the  conditions, 
in  said  Act  specified — for  cooperative  agricultural  extension  work,  which  "shall 
consist  of  the  giving  of  instruction  and  practical  demonstration  in  agriculture  and 
home  economics  to  persons  not  attending  or  resident  in  said  colleges  in  the  several 
communities,  and  imparting  to  such  persons  information  on  said  subjects  through 
field  demonstrations,  publications,  and  otherwise;  and  this  work  shall  be  carried 
on  in  such  manner  as  may  be  mutually  agreed  upon  by  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture and  the  State  agricultural  college  or  colleges  receiving  the  benefits  of  this  Act." 
The  Act  further  provides  "that  no  payment  out  of  the  additional  appropriations 
herein  provided  shall  be  made  in  any  year  to  any  State  until  an  equal  sum  has  been 
appropriated  for  that  year  by  the  legislature  of  such  State,  or  provided  by  State, 
county,  college,  local  authority,  or  individual  contributions  from  within  the  State, 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  cooperative  agricultural  extension  work  provided  for 
in  this  Act." 

The  legislature  of  1912  passed  an  Act  of  appropriation  (No.  84)  to  meet  such 
a  contingency,  but  whether  it  amply  meets  the  conditions  of  this  Federal 
Act,  we  do  not  pretend  to  say. 

There  is  no  danger  of  overvaluing  such  extension  work  to  the  agricultural 
industry  of  the  state.  Reference  to  this  class  of  work  is  made  in  our  discussion 
of    vocational   education. 

By  Act  of  Congress,  approved  August  30,  1890,  known  as  the  "  Morrill  Act 
of  1890,"  it  was  provided  that  there  should  be  appropriated  to  be  paid  to  each 
state  and  territory,  "for  the  more  complete  endowment  and  maintenance  of  col- 
leges for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts"  then  established,  or 
which  might  thereafter  be  established,  in  accordance  with  the  Act  of  Congress 
approved  July  2,  1862,  the  sum  of  $15,000  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1890,  and 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  »7 

an  annual  increase  of  the  amount  of  such  appropriation  thereafter  for  ten  years 
by  an  additional  sum  of  $1,000  over  the  preceding  year,  and  the  sum  of  $25,000 
annually  thereafter,  "to  be  applied  only  to  instruction  in  agriculture,  the  mechanic 
arts,  the  English  language  and  the  various  branches  of  mathematical,  physical, 
natural  and  economic  science,  with  special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the 
industries  of  life,  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction."  And  by  Act  of  Congress 
approved  March  4,  1907,  known  as  the  "Nelson  Act,"  there  was  annually  appro- 
priated, to  each  state  and  territory,  "for  the  more  complete  endowment  and  main- 
tenance of  agricultural  colleges"  then  established,  or  which  might  thereafter  be 
established,  in  accordance  with  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  July  2,  1862,  and  Act 
of  Congress  approved  August  30,  1890,  the  sum  of  $5,000  in  addition  to  the  sums 
named  in  the  said  act  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1908,  and  an  annual  in- 
crease of  the  amount  of  said  appropriation  thereafter  for  four  years  by  an  addition- 
al sum  of  $5,000  over  the  preceding  year,  and  the  annual  sum  of  $50,000  to  be 
paid  thereafter  to  each  state  and  territory,  "to  be  applied  only  for  the  purposes  of 
the  agricultural  colleges  as  defined  and  limited  in  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  July 
second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  August 
thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety,  *  *  *  and  the  expenditure  of  the  said  money 
shall  be  governed  in  all  respects  by  the  provisions  of  said  Act  of  Congress  approved 
July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixtj'-two,  and  the  said  Act  of  Congress  ap- 
proved August  thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety :  Provided,  That  said  colleges 
may  use  a  portion  of  this  money  for  providing  courses  for  the  special  preparation 
of  instructors  for  teaching  the  elements  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts." 

The  Morrill  Act  of  1890  and  the  "Nelson  Act"  (1907)  explicitly  state  that 
the  appropriations  thereunder  (constituting  the  $50,000),  shall  "be  applied  only 
to  instruction  in  agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts,  the  English  language  and  the 
various  branches  of  mathematical,  physical,  natural  and  economic  science,  with 
special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the  industries  of  life,  and  to  the  facilities 
for  such  instruction."  Under  this  provision,  simply  applying  the  money  to  instruc- 
tion in  the  several  branches  named  would  hardly  seem  to  meet  the  requirement. 
It  must  be  applied  to  instruction  in  those  branches,  how?  ''With  special  reference 
to  their  applications  in  the  industries  of  life,  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction'' 
While  the  italics  are  ours,  the  word  "special,"  as  used  in  this  phrase,  shows  that 
intended  emphasis  is  placed  upon  this  part  of  the  requirement. 

In  one  state  mining  may  be  the  predominating  industry,  in  another,  the  manu- 
facturing of  different  commercial  products,  in  another  agriculture,  as  in  Vermont. 
The  intention  of  Congress  was  to  specify  particularly  the  different  branches  to 
which  this  fund  should  be  applied,  at  the  same  time  requiring  the  application  to 
be  made  to  those  branches  with  special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the  indus- 
tries of  life,  in  the  several  states,  respectively,  thereby  giving  each  state  the  most 
practical  benefit  in  the  Hue  of  its  greatest  industries.  That  this  is  in  accordance 
with  the  true  construction  as  recognized  by  the  United  States  Department  of 


98  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

Agriculture,  seems  manifest  from  Bulletins  Nos.  142  and  164,  issued  by  that  Depart- 
ment and  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made  in  this  report:  thus  it  was 
said  by  President  Thompson  in  his  address  above  noticed,  (in  Bulletin  No.  142, 
page  92),  referring  to  the  provision  of  the  Morrill  Act  of  1890,  specifying  the 
branches  of  instruction  to  which  the  funds  of  that  appropriation  could  be  applied 
and  the  required  manner  of  application,  that  the  debate  in  Congress  leading  up  to 
this  provision  made  clear  the  fact  that  the  United  States  intended  the  money  to 
be  applied  as  there  set  forth;  and  that  there  v.as  manifestly  a  feeling  that  some  of 
the  land-grant  colleges  had  not  kept  strictly  within  the  limits  of  the  Act  of  1862. 
It  was  said  by  President  Kerr  in  his  address,  to  which  attention  has  been  called 
(in  Bulletin  No.  164,  page  123),  that  "In  the  land-grant  colleges  special  emphasis 
should  be  placed  upon  the  applications  of  science.  Scientific  investigations  should 
be  encouraged,  but  with  the  view  of  their  practical  value  rather  than  for  the  purpose 
merely  of  extending  the  borders  of  knowledge.  These  colleges  are  primarily 
schools  of  technology,  in  which  agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts,  domestic  economy, 
and  commerce  may  be  regarded  as  distinctive  features,  the  extent  to  which  each 
institution  should  develop  courses  along  these  different  lines  varying  with  the 
conditions  in  the  several  states."  He  further  said,  "The  work  of  the  college 
should  be  that  which  relates  most  directly  to  the  development  of  the  resources 
and  industries  of  each  State,  such,  for  example,  as  the  irrigation  enterprises  so 
important  in  the  reclamation  of  the  arid  and  semi-arid  regions,  or  certain  manu- 
facturing interests  in  other  sections  of  the  country," 

And  John  Hamilton  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  in  a  paper  entitled 
"The  Open  Door  for  the  Land-grant  College — The  Farmers,"  also  printed  in 
Bulletin  No.  164,  page  126,  issued  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
said: 

"The  supplemental  Morrill  bill  of  1890  directs  that  the  funds  received  under 
its  provisions  shall  'be  applied  only  to  instruction  in  agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts, 
the  English  language,  and  the  various  branches  of  mathematical,  physical,  natural, 
and  economic  science,  with  special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the  industries 
of  life,  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction,' 

"This  act  not  only  cuts  out  all  language  studies  except  English,  but  it  also 
emphasizes  the  important  fact  that  such  mathematical,  physical,  natural,  and 
economic  science  studies  as  are  taught  shall  be  taught,  not  after  the  old  traditional 
manner,  but  in  an  entirely  new  way,  with  'special  reference  to  their  applications 
to  the  industries.'     What  industries? 

"The  title  of  the  bill  indicates  the  'industries'  intended  to  be  included.  It 
declares  the  purpose  to  be  "to  apply  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands 
to  the  more  complete  endowment  of  the  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and 
the  mechanic  arts.'  It  does  not  say  'and  for  the  other  industries  and  professions 
in  life,'  but  stops  with  the  two  great  industries  that  were  to  be  the  leading  objects 
of  education,  as  indicated  in  the  act  of  1862. 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  99 

"This  act  of  1890,  coming  as  it  does  twenty-eight  years  after  the  founding 
of  the  land-grant  colleges,  is  in  the  nature  of  a  definition  or  declaration  of  purpose 
of  the  act  to  which  it  is  a  supplement.  Some  of  the  colleges  had  used  the  funds 
of  the  original  grant  to  teach  mathematics,  physical,  natural,  and  economic  science, 
together  with  language  studies,  in  a  way  that  directed  men  into  professional  life, 
or  at  least  that  did  not  lead  them  into  industrial  pursuits.  This  act  of  1890  dis- 
tinctly prohibits  such  use  of  its  funds,  and  by  inference  applies  the  same  restric- 
tion to  the  original  act,  at  least  until  the  two  leading  industries — 'agriculture' 
and  the  'mechanic  arts' — have  been  fully  provided  for. 

"But  why  refer  to  this  that  ought  to  be,  and  doubtless  is,  familiar  to  every 
land-grant  college  officer?  Simply  by  way  of  reminder  of  the  fact  that  a  'door', 
wide  and  open  to  agriculture,  was  provided  for  by  both  of  these  national  laws, 
and  was  directed  to  be  swung  in  the  front  portal  of  every  institution  that  accepted 
the  grants  which  these  two  acts  of  Congress  bestowed. 


"However  much  they  (land-grant  colleges)  may  have  done  in  the  past  or 
may  in  the  future  do  for  the  aid  and  elevation  of  men  in  their  several  pursuits  and 
professions  in  life,  they  have  signally  failed  of  the  main  purpose  of  their  creation 
if  they  have  neglected  to  do  for  farming  people  not  all  that  farming  people  need 
but  all  that  modern  knowledge  in  agricultural  science  has  made  it  possible  for 
them  to  do." 

Under  date  of  November  26,  1900,  a  formal  order  regarding  the  classification 
of  subjects  under  the  various  headings  to  be  included  in  the  reports  of  treasurers 
of  colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  under  the  Morrill  Act  of  1890,  and  the 
Nelson  Act  of  1907,  was  issued  by  the  Department  at  Washington,  and  the  classi- 
fication in  that  circular  is  exactly  like  that  in  a  pamphlet  of  rulings  and  instructions 
relative  to  those  two  Acts,  approved  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education 
November  2,  1911.     Sections  7,  8,  and  9  of  that  pamphlet  are  as  follows: 

7.  No  part  of  the  funds  received  under  the  provisions  of  the  acts  of  1890  and 
1907  may  be  used  for  any  form  of  extension  work,  and  all  instruction  must  be 
given  at  the  institutions  receiving  these  funds,  except  that  a  reasonable  portion 
of  the  funds  provided  by  the  act  of  1907  may  be  used  for  the  instruction  of  teachers 
in  agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  domestic  science  at  summer  schools,  teachers' 
institutes,  and  by  correspondence,  and  in  supervising  and  directing  work  in  these 
subjects  in  high  schools. 

8.  All  or  a  part  of  the  funds  provided  by  the  act  of  March  4,  1907,  may  be  used 
"for  providing  courses  for  the  special  preparation  of  instructors  for  teaching  the 
elements  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts."  It  is  held  that  this  language  authorizes 
expenditures  for  instruction  in  the  history  of  agriculture  and  industrial  education, 
in  methods  of  teaching  agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home  economics,  and  also 
for  special  aid  and  supervision  given  to  teachers  actively  engaged  in  teaching 


100  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home  economics  in  public  schools.  It  does  not 
authorize  expenditures  for  general  courses  in  pedagogy,  psychology,  history  of 
education,  and  methods  of  teaching. 

9.  In  order  that  greater  uniformity  in  the  reports  of  treasurers  may  be  obtained 
in  the  future,  the  following  classification  of  subjects  that  may  be  included  under 
the  several  schedules  has  been  prepared,  such  classification  to  be  adhered  to  by  the 
treasurers  of  the  various  institutions  in  the  preparation  of  their  annual  reports: 

Schedule  A. — Instruction  in  agriculture. 

1.  Agriculture.  6.  Dairying. 

2.  Horticulture.  7.  Veterinary  science. 

3.  Forestry.  8.  Poultry  industry. 

4.  Agronomy.  9.  Apiculture. 

5.  Animal  husbandry. 

Schedule  B. — Instruction  in  mechanic  arts. 

1.  Mechanical  engineering.  10.  Architecture. 

2.  Civil  engineering.  11.  Machine  design. 

3.  Electrical  engineering.  12.  Mechanical  drawing. 

4.  Irrigation  engineering.  13.  Ceramics. 

5.  Mining  engineering.  14.  Stenography. 

6.  Marine  engineering.  15.  Typewriting. 

7.  Railway  engineering.  16.  Telegraphy. 

8.  Experimental  engineering.  17.  Printing. 

9.  Textile  industry.  18.  Shop  work. 

Schedule  C. — Instruction  in  English  language. 

1.  English  language.  4.  Rhetoric. 

2.  English  literature.  5.  Oratory. 

3.  Composition. 

Schedule  D. — Instruction  in  mathematical  sciences. 

1.  Mathematics.  3.  Astronomy. 

2.  Bookkeeping. 

Schedule  E. — Instruction  in  natural  and  physical  sciences. 

1.  Chemistry.  8.  Metallurgy. 

2.  Physics.  9.  Entomology. 

3.  Biology.  10.  Physiology. 

4.  Botany.  11.  Bacteriology. 

5.  Zoology.  12.  Pharmacy. 

6.  Geology.  13.  Physical  geography. 

7.  Mineralogy.  14.  Meteorology. 

Schedule  F. — Instruction  in  economic  sciences. 

1.  Political  economy.  3.  Commercial  geography. 

2.  Home  economics. 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  101 

Schedule  G. — Special  'preparation  of  teachers. 

1.  History  of  industrial  education   (with  special  reference  to  agriculture, 

mechanic  arts,  and  home  economics). 

2.  Methods  of  teaching  agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home  economics. 

3.  Special  instruction  to  persons  teaching  agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home 

economics. 

This  classification  is  not  construed  by  the  Commission  as  intending  that 
colleges  shall  be  restricted  in  the  expenditure  of  funds  received  from  the  Federal 
government  to  the  subjects  included  in  the  classification,  (if  other  subjects  are 
fairly  within  the  specifications  of  the  grants,)  nor  as  intending  that  colleges  shall 
expend  funds  for  all  the  subjects  included  in  said  classification. 

In  an  address  before  the  Commission  respecting  the  proposition  that  the 
trustees  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  in  the  expen- 
diture of  the  Federal  moneys,  have  diverted  the  funds  of  the  agricultural  depart- 
ment to  the  other  departments,  a  representative  of  that  institution  said: 

"If  we  had  been  inclined  to  do  it  (divert  the  fund  that  was  given  to  us  by  the 
appropriation  of  the  United  States  Government,)  we  couldn't  have  done  it,  because 
every  dollar  that  comes  from  the"  government  of  the  United  States  is,  by  the  law, 
to  be  expended  upon  that  campus — every  dollar  has  been  expended  upon  that 
campus;  every  dollar  of  it  has  been  submitted  to  the  government  before  they 
O.  K.'ed  it;  every  dollar  has  been  O.  K.'ed  and  approved  by  the  government." 

In  other  words,  the  government's  approval  of  the  expenditure  of  these  moneys 
is  cited  as  a  conclusive  answer  to  the  criticism  made  respecting  their  expenditure. 
To  what  extent  such  governmental  approval  is  a  bar  to  thj  criticism,  however, 
must  be  determined  by  the  scope  of  the  government's  requirements  and  the  inspec- 
tion upon  which  its  approval  is  based,  and  whether  the  measure  of  its  inspection 
is  such  as  in  practical  operation  to  include  the  element  which  is  more  particularly 
of  state  concern,  namely,  that  the  expenditure  shall  be  applied  to  instruction  in 
the  branches  named,  with  special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the  industries 
of  life  in  the  several  states,  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction,  varying  according 
as  the  resources  and  the  peculiar  industries  of  the  states  may  vary. 

By  section  2  of  the  Morrill  Act  of  1890,  the  treasurers  of  colleges  or  other  insti- 
tutions, entitled  to  receive  sums  of  money  thereunder,  are  "required  to  report  to 
the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  and  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  on  or  before  the 
first  day  of  September  of  each  year,  a  detailed  statement  of  the  amount  so  received 
and  of  its  disbursement."  By  the  regulations  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior 
such  reports  require  a  separate  statement  with  respect  to  the  money  expended  for 
salaries  of  instructors  and  for  facilities  in  each  of  the  several  branches  named  in 
the  statute,  each  branch  being  separately  reported  by  schedules  designated  by 
the  letters  "A",  "B",  "C",  and  so  forth.  From  1891  to  and  including  1913,  the 
form  of  the  reports  varies  slightly,  but  throughout,  the  general  scheme  of  reports  by 


102  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

schedules  remained.     To  these  reports  a  statement,  signed  by  the  treasurer,  appeart 
as  follows: 

"/  Hereby  Certify  that  the  above  account  is  correct  and  true,  and,  together  with 
the  schedules  hereunto  attached,  truly  represents  the  details  of  expenditures  for  the 
period  and  by  the  institution  named;  that  said  expenditures  were  applied  only  to 
instruction  in  agriculture,  the  mechanic  arts,  the  English  language,  and  the  various 
branches  of  mathematical,  physical,  natural,  and  economic  science,  with  special 
reference  to  their  applications  in  the  industries  of  life,  and  to  the  facilities  for  such 
instruction;  and  that  no  part  of  these  funds  was  expended  for  the  erection,  preser- 
vation, or  repair  of  any  building  or  buildings." 

After  the  passage  of  the  Nelson  Act  of  1907,  permitting  the  use  of  a  portion 
of  the  money  for  providing  courses  for  the  special  preparation  of  instructors  for 
teaching  the  elements  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts,  this  certificate  was  changed 
by  inserting  after  the  words,  "industries  of  life,"  the  following:  "to  the  special 
preparation  of  instructors  for  teaching  the  elements  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts." 

It  is  clear  that,  beyond  said  certificate,  the  Federal  government  received  by 
these  reports  nothing  upon  which  to  base  an  approval  that  the  expenditures  reported 
were  applied  to  the  several  branches  of  instruction  "with  special  reference  to  their 
applications  in  the  industries  of  life." 

The  Commission  deems  it  of  importance  to  set  forth  the  following  summariei 
of  said  reports: 

Report  for  1891. 
Received, 

Dec.  18,  1890,  $15,000.00 

March  16,  1891,  16,000.00 

Disbursed  for  instruction  and  facilities 

In  agriculture,  $  3,537.59 

In  mechanic  arts,  4,210.39 

In  English  language,  1,803.93 

In  mathematical  science,  1,841.74 

In  physical  science,  1,761.39 

In  economic  science,  1,504.63 

Balance  unexpended,  14,514.76 


$31,000.00        $31,000.00 

Report  for  189S. 
Balance  from  1891,  .  $14,514.76 

Received,  17,000.00 

Disbursed  for  instruction  and  facilities 

In  agriculture,  $  6,750.05 

In  mechanic  arts,  14,267.18 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  108 


In  En<ilish  language 

1,750.00 

In  mathematical  science, 

2,550.00 

In  physical  science, 

1,750.00 

In  natural  science, 

2,346.00 

In  economic  science. 

1,500.00 

Balance  unexpended. 

601.53 

$31,514.76 

$31,514.76 

Report  for  1893, 

Balance  from  1892, 

$      601.53 

Received, 

18,000.00 

Disbursed  for  instruction  and  facilities 

In  agriculture, 

$  3,376.53 

In  mechanic  arts, 

3,500.00 

In  English  language. 

1,750.00 

In  mathematical  science, 

2,750.00 

In  physical  science. 

3,500.00 

In  natural  science, 

1,500.00 

$18,601.53 

$18,601.53 

Report  for  18H, 

Received, 

$19,000.00 

Disbursed  for  instruction  and  facilities 

In  agriculture. 

$  3,360.00 

In  civil  engineering, 

3,500.00 

In  rhetoric  and  English  literature. 

1,750.00 

In  mathematics. 

2,750.00 

In  physics  and  electrical  engineering, 

5,390.00 

In  political  economy, 

2,250.00 

$19,000.00 

$19,000.00 

Report  for  1895. 

Received, 

$20,000.00 

Disbursed : 

Mathematics  and  English  in  Agricultural  depart 

,- 

ment,  agricultural  chemistry,  botany,  agricul 

1- 

ture  and  horticulture,  dairying. 

$  3,044.75 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering. 

10,704  07 

Rhetoric  and  literature. 

2,000.00 

Mathematics  and  physics, 

2,000.00 

Chemistry, 

1,251.18 

Political  economy. 

1,000.00 

$20,000.00 

$20,000.00 

104  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

Report  for  1896. 
Received,  $21,000.00 

Disbursed: 

Mathematics  and  English  in  agricultural  depart- 
ment,   agricultural    chemistry,    botany    and 

horticulture,  $  3,400.00 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering,  8,100.00 

Rhetoric  and  literature,  3,000.00 

Mathematics  and  physics,  3,500.00 

Chemistry,  2,000.00 

Political  economy,  1,000.00 


Report  for  1897. 

Received, 
Disbursed: 

Mathematics  and  English  in  agricultural  depart- 
ment, agricultural  chemistry,  botany  and 
horticulture. 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering. 

Rhetoric  and  literature. 

Mathematics  and  physics, 

Chemistry  and  natural  history, 

Political  economy. 


Report  for  1898. 

Received, 
Disbursed: 

English  and  mathematics  in  agricultural  depart- 
ment, agricultural  chemistry,  botany  and 
horticulture. 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering, 

Rhetoric,  literature  and  elocution, 

Mathematics  and  physics, 

Chemistry  and  natural  history, 

Political  economy, 

$23,000.00         $23,000.00 

Report  for  1899. 
Received,  $24,000.00  ' 

Disbursed: 

English  and  mathematics  in  agricultural  depart- 
ment, chemistry,  botany  and  horticulture,  $  3,650.00 
Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering,  8,700.00 


$21,000.00 

$21,000.00 

$22,000.00 

$  3,450.00 
8,300.00 
1,750.00 
3,750.00 
3.750.00 
1,000.00 

$22,000.00 

$22,000.00 

$23,000.00 

I 

$  3,450.00 
8,300.00 
2,750.00 
3,750.00 
3,750.00 
1,000.00 

FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  105 

Rhetoric,  literature  and  elocution,  2,900.00 

Mathematics  and  physics,  3,850.00 

Chemistry  and  natural  history,  3,900.00 

Political  economy,  1,000.00 


$24,000.00         $24,000.00 


Rejiort  Sm  1900 . 

Received,  $25,000.00 
Disbursed : 

English  and  mathematics  in  agricultural  depart- 
ment, chemistry,  botany  and  horticulture,  $  4,074.98 
Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering,  8,900.00 
Rhetoric,  literature  and  elocution,  3,100.00 
Mathematics  and  physics,  3,925.02 
Chemistry  and  natural  history,  3,900.00 
Political  economy,  1,100  00 


$25,000.00         $25,000.00 


Report  for  1901 . 

Received,                                                                   $25,000.00 

Disbursed: 

English   and   mathematics,   chemistry,   botany 

and  horticulture. 

$  3,624.98 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering. 

9,350.00 

Rhetoric,  literature  and  elocution. 

3,100.00 

Mathematics  and  physics, 

3,925.02 

Chemistry  and  natural  history. 

3,900.00 

Political  economy. 

1,100.00 

$25,000.00 

$25,000.00 

Report  for  1902. 

Received,  $25,000.00 

Disbursed : 

Horticulture,  $      875.00 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering,  7,800.00 

English,  rhetoric,  literature  and  elocution,  4,225.00 

Mathematics,  3,100.02 
Chemistry,  natural  history,  biology,  botany  and 

physics,                            '                              '  7,899.98 

Political  economy,  1,100.00 


$25,000.00        $25,000.00 


106  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

Report  for  1903. 
Received,  $25,000.00 

Disbursed : 

Horticulture,  ...  ^      '^'^^'^^ 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering,  7,931.25 

English,  rhetoric,  literature  and  elocution,  4,225.00 

Mathematics,  3,100.02 

Chemistry,  natural  history,  biology,  botany  and 

physics,  7,899.98 

Political  economy,  1,100.00 


Report  for  190Jf. 
Received, 
Disbursed: 
Horticulture, 

Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering, 
English,  rhetoric,  literature  and  elocution. 
Mathematics, 
Chemistry,  natural  history,  biology,  botany  and 

physics. 
Political  economy. 


Report  for  1905 
Received, 
Disbursed : 

Chemistry  in  agricultural  department  and  horti- 
culture, 
Civil,  electrical  and  mechanical  engineering, 
English,  elocution,  rhetoric  and  oratory. 
Mathematics, 
Chemistry,   geology,   zoology,   biology,   botany 

and  physics. 
Political  economy, 

$25,000.00         $25,000.00 

Report  for  1906. 
Received,  $25,000.00 

Disbursed : 

Agriculture,    dairying,    horticulture,    agronomy 

and  veterinary  science,  $  2,500.00 

Civil,  electrical,  mechanical  and  railway  engi- 
neering and  machine  drawing,  7,400.00 


$25,000.00 

$25,000.00 

$25,000.00 

1 

$      737.50 
8,600.00 
4,825.00 
2,375.00 

7,849.98 
612.52 

$25,000.00 

$25,000.00 

$25,000.00 

$  1,500.00 
7,800.00 
3,875.00 
2,875.00 

7,850.00 
1,100.00 

FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  107 

English  language,  literature,  composition,  rheto- 


ric  and  oratory. 

2,500.00 

Mathematics,  astronomy  and  book-keeping, 

3,250.00 

Chemistry,      geology,      zoology,      entomology, 

botany,  physics  and  mineralogy, 

7,850.00 

Political  economy, 

1,500.00 

$25,000.00 

$25,000  00 

Report  for  1907. 

Received, 

$25,000.00 

Disbursed: 

Agriculture, 

$  2,500.00 

Mechanic  arts, 

7,400.00 

English  language, 

2,500.00 

Mathematical  science, 

3,250.00 

Natural  or  physical  science, 

7,850.00 

Economic  science, 

1,500.00 

$25,000.00 

$25,000.00 

Report  for  1908. 

Received, 

$30,000.00 

Disbursed: 

Agriculture, 

$  6,000.00 

Mechanic  arts. 

7,400.00 

English  language, 

2,900.00 

Mathematical  science. 

3,250.00 

Natural  or  physical  science. 

8,950.00 

Economic  science. 

1,500.00 

$30,000,00 

$30,000.00 

Report  for  1909. 

Received, 

$35,000.00 

Disbursed: 

' 

Agriculture, 

$  1,466.00 

Mechanic  arts. 

11,434.00 

English  language. 

3,900.00 

Mathematical  science. 

5,700.00 

Natural  or  physical  science, 

12,500.00 

$35,000.00 

$35,000.00 

Report  for  1910 

Received, 

$40,000.00 

Disbursed : 

Agriculture, 

$  3,893.59 

Mechanic  arts, 

12,974.65 

108  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 


English  language, 

3,180.95 

Mathematical  science, 

4,450.00 

Natural  or  physical  science, 

12,225.81 

Economic  science, 

3,125.00 

Training  of  teachers  of  elementary  agriculture 

and  mechanic  arts. 

150.00 

$40,000.00 

$40,000.00 

Report  for  1911. 

Received,                                                                   $45,000.00 

Disbursed : 

Agriculture, 

$  4,288.14 

Mechanic  arts, 

11,736.60 

English  language. 

3,290.63 

Mathematical  science. 

4,950.02 

Natural  or  physical  science, 

16,877.23 

Economic  science, 

3,557.38 

Training  of  teachers  of  elementary  agriculture 

and  mechanic  arts, 

300.00 

$45,000.00 

$45,000.00 

Report  for  1912, 

Received,                                                                   $50,000.00 

Disbursed : 

Agriculture, 

$  5,481.39 

Mechanic  arts, 

13,202.34 

English  language. 

4,122.92 

Mathematical  science. 

5,240.00 

Natural  or  physical  science, 

16,905.45 

Economic  science. 

4,697.90 

Training  of  teachers  of  elementary  agriculture 

and  mechanic  arts, 

$50,000.00 

$50,000.00 

Report  for  1913. 

Received,                                                                   $50,000.00 

Disbursed: 

Agriculture, 

$  6,687.11 

Mechanic  arts. 

14,519.77 

English  language. 

5,166.32 

Mathematical  science, 

3,000.00 

Natural  or  physical  science. 

15,468.46 

Economic  science. 

4,633.34 

Training  of  teachers  of  elementary  agriculture 

and  mechanic  arts, 

525.00 

$50,000.00 

$50,000.00 

FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  109 

It  will  be  noticed  that  beginning  with  the  year  1895  and  continuing  through 
the  report  for  1906,  the  several  subdivisions  of  disbursements  are  not  designated 
by  the  words  of  the  statute  as  in  the  reports  prior  to  1895  and  since  1906.  It 
seems  apparent,  however,  that  the  seven  subdivisions,  referring  to  their  respective 
schedules,  were  intended  to  preserve  in  the  reports  the  separation  of  branches  desig- 
nated in  the  statute. 

The  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  respecting  the  expenditure  of  the 
Federal  appropriation  in  1912,  says:  "In  other  words,  of  the  total  sura  of  $50,000 
received  by  the  trustees  from  the  United  States  government  because  of  the  presence 
of  the  Agricultural  College,  only  $5,481  are  spent  otherwise  than  would  be  the 
case  if  the  Agricultural  College  existed  elsewhere."  The  University  of  Vermont 
and  State  Agricultural  College,  as  an  institution  of  higher  learning,  has  made 
prominent  the  instruction  it  offers  in  the  liberal  arts — instruction  of  a  purely  cul- 
tural type.  It  is,  therefore,  somewhat  surprising  to  learn  that  its  largest  activi- 
ties are  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  State  Agricultural  College,  by  virtue  of  which 
it  receives  the  Federal  appropriation.  Many  of  its  courses  of  instruction,  neces- 
sarily a  part  of  a  college  of  liberal  arts  merely,  and  required  by  it  of  all  its  academic 
students,  are  sustained  either  wholly,  or  nearly  so,  by  the  expenditure  of  this  appro- 
priation. This  is  particularly  true  of  English  and  mathematics  as  disclosed  by 
these  reports  and  the  several  catalogues  of  the  institution.  It  is  true  that  the 
Federal  statute  expressly  authorizes  the  expenditure  of  the  appropriation  for  in- 
struction in  these  subjects;  but  the  Commission  believes  that  the  expenditure  of 
the  Federal  funds  for  instructing  classical  and  literary-scientific  students  in  those 
subjects,  as  long  as  anything  remains  to  be  done  to  advance  instruction  in  the  more 
practical  branches  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  is  not  applying  such  ex- 
penditures to  instruction  required  by  the  statute  "with  special  reference  to  their 
applications  in  the  industries  of  life." 

Taking  the  amount  shown  by  the  foregoing  summaries  to  have  been  expended 
each  year  from  1891  to  1913,  inclusive,  as  a  basis  of  computation,  it  gives  the  per- 
centum  expended  for  agriculture  as  follows: 

1891 21.45% 

1892 21.83% 

1893 18.15% 

1894 17.68% 

1895 15.22% 

1896 16.19% 

1897 15.68% 

1898 15.     % 

1899 15.2  % 

1900 15.89% 

1901 14.49% 

1902 3.5   % 

1903 2.97% 


110  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

1904 2.95% 

1905 6.     % 

1906 10.     % 

1907 10.     % 

1908 20.     % 

1909 4.18% 

1910 9.73% 

1911 9.5   % 

1912 10.96% 

1913 13.37% 

In  this  connection  it  is  important  to  notice  not  only  the  facts  reported  by 
the  Carnegie  Foundation  respecting  the  disbursement  of  Federal  funds  under  the 
Morrill  Act  of  1890  and  the  Nelson  Act  of  1907,  by  the  University  of  Vermont 
and  State  Agricultural  College,  but  also  facts  and  statistics  in  the  hands  of  the 
Commission,  from  other  sources,  showing  the  disbursement  of  Federal  funds  under 
the  provisions  of  the  same  Acts  of  Congress,  by  institutions,  known  as  "agricultural 
and  mechanical  colleges,"  in  other  states. 

It  appears  (from  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  page  168),  that  the 
$50,000  received  annually  by  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College,  from  the  United  States  Treasury,  under  the  grants  of  1890  and  1907,  is 
spent,  according  to  the  University's  report,  as  follows: 

Engineering  (or  Mechanic  Arts)  $13,302 

Natural  and  Physical  Sciences  f  $1 1 ,246  |                                             ,  /,  q^P 

Botany  and  Zoology                   (  5,660  ^                                                 ' 

Agriculture  5,481 

Mathematics  5,240 

Economic  Science  4,697 

English  4,122 

Sundries  252 

Total  $50,000 

The  foregoing  tabulated  statement,  after  including  the  subjects  of  Botany 
and  Zoology  under  the  head  of  Natural  and  Physical  Sciences,  as  is  done  by  the 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  in  Vol.  II,  page  362,  of  his  report  for 
the  year  ending  June  30,  1912,  shows  a  percentage  of  appropriation  expended  for 
instruction  in  the  various  subjects  as  follows: — 

Subjects  Per  Cent 

Engineering  (Mechanic  Arts)  26.60% 

Natural  and  Physical  Science  33.81  % 

Agriculture  10.96% 

Mathematics  10.48% 

Economic  Science  9.39% 

English  8.24% 

Sundries  .5  % 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  111 

The  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  in  the  same  volume,  on  pages 
361-363,  gives  a  tabulated  statement  of  disbursement  of  funds  received  under  the 
Morrill  Act  of  1890,  and  the  Nelson  Act  of  1907,  by  colleges  of  agriculture  and  me- 
chanic arts  in  all  of  the  states  of  the  Union,  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1912. 
Computing  the  per  centum  from  that  statement,  it  appears  that  those  appropria- 
tions (aggregating  the  $50,000),  were  expended  by  the  colleges  receiving  them  in 
the  six  New  England  States  and  in  New  York,  (we  include  New  York  because  it 
is  an  adjoining  state,)  respectively,  for  instruction  in  agriculture,  as  follows:  Con- 
necticut, 57.17  %,  Maine,  20.7  %,  Massachusetts,  35.26  %,  New  Hampshire,  27.76  %, 
New  York,  27.25  %,  Rhode  Island,  25.8  %,  Vermont,  10.96  %.  Thus  Vermont  is  shown 
to  have  expended  for  that  purpose  in  per  centum  a  trifle  more  than  one  half  the 
sum  expended  by  Maine,  less  than  two  fifths  the  sum  expended  by  New  Hampshire, 
a  trifle  more  than  two  fifths  the  sum  expended  by  New  York,  less  than  one  half  the 
sum  expended  by  Rhode  Island,  less  than  one  third  the  sum  expended  by  Massa- 
chusetts, and  less  than  one  fifth  the  sum  expended  by  Connecticut. 

We  quote  from  page  336  of  the  same  volume  of  the  Report  of  the  United  States 
Commissioner,  regarding  the  average  percentage  of  the  appropriation  from  the 
general  government,  expended  for  instruction  in  the  various  subjects,  beginning 
with  the  year  1904  and  ending  with  the  year  1912,  as  follows: 

"The  total  appropriated  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1912,  from  the  United 
States  Treasury  in  aid  of  the  land-grant  colleges  under  the  provisions  of  the  acts 
of  August  30,  1890,  and  March  4,  1907,  was  $2,500,000,  each  State  receiving 
$25,000  under  the  Morrill  Act  of  1890  and  $25,000  under  the  Nelson  Act  of  1907. 
Sums  from  this  amount  were  expended  for  instruction  in  the  various  subjects  in 
the  proportion  shown  in  the  table  following : 

"  Percentage  of  appropriation  expended  for  instruction  in  various  subjects. 


Subjects 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

Agriculture 

16.8 

16.8 

17.6 

17.7 

19.3 

21.2 

20.1 

22.5 

22.0 

Mechanic  Arts 

29.5 

29.6 

30.5 

30.9 

27.8 

26.9 

27.9 

26.7 

26.3 

Eng.  Language 

12.3 

12.4 

11.7 

10.9 

10.7 

10.1 

10.0 

10.1 

8.9 

Math.  Science 

11.8 

11.8 

11.6 

11.6 

11.0 

10.7 

9.4 

9.3 

10.0 

Nat.  &  Phy.  Sci. 

23.4 

23.2 

22.7 

23.2 

24.9 

23.2 

23.8 

23.7 

26.5 

Economic  Sci. 

6.2 

6.2 

5.9 

5.7 

5.6 

5.7 

5.5 

5.9 

5.4 

Train,  of  Teacher 

of 
El.  Agri.  &  Mech. 

.7 

2.2 

3.3 

1.8 

.9 

Arts 

>» 

In  connection  therewith  the  facts  show  that  in  1893  when  this  appropriation 
stood  at  $18,000  the  trustees  allotted  $3,376  to  distinctly  agricultural  education. 
Thereafter  these  appropriations  increased  to  the  extent  of  $1,000  a  year  up  to  the 
year  1900  when  it  amounted  to  $25,000.     The  annual  appropriation  stood  at  that 


112  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

sum  until  the  year  1908  when  it  was  $30,000,  increasing  thereafter  annually  by 
$5,000  until  the  year  1912  when  it  was  $50,000,  at  which  sum  annually  it  has 
since  remained.  Adverting  to  the  tabulated  statement  of  the  per  cent  expended 
annually  for  agriculture  by  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College, 
(shown  on  pp  109-10,)  it  is  seen  that  after  the  year  1893  the  per  cent  thus  expended 
in  the  majority  of  the  years  grew  less  until  in  1901  it  was  14.49  %;  that  thereafter 
for  four  consecutive  j^ears  it  was  3.5  %,  2.97  %,  2.95  %,  and  6  %,  respectively;  that 
in  the  next  three  years  it  was  increased  to  10  %  in  each  of  the  first  two  years  and 
to  20%  in  the  third,  which  was  1908;  that  in  1909  it  was  4.18%,  in  1910  it  was 
9.73%,  in  1911  it  was  9.5%,  in  1912  it  was  10.96%,  and  in  1913  it  was  13.37%. 
The  average  annually  during  the  last  twelve  years  being  8.59  %. 

It  appears  that  before  money  was  received  from  the  general  government  under 
the  Morrill  Act  of  1890,  complaints  were  made  by  the  State  Grange  that  the  Feder- 
al appropriation  received  by  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College  was  not  being  expended  by  it  with  due  respect  for  agriculture;  that  inves- 
tigations concerning  it  were  made  by  persons  representing  the  State  Grange,  by 
persons  representing  the  state  legislature,  and  by  a  person  representing  the  gen- 
eral government;  that  reports  based  upon  such  investigations  were  made  against 
the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  by  those  persons  so 
representing  the  State  Grange,  and  in  favor  of  it  by  those  persons  representing 
the  legislature,  and  by  the  person  so  representing  the  general  government;  and 
that  addresses  were  delivered  by  men  high  in  civil  life,  having  knowledge  of  the 
matter,  explaining  the  object  of  the  Morrill  Act  of  1862,  and  commending  the  course 
of  the  University  relative  thereto.  Yet  so  far  as  these  things  were  prior  to  the 
Morrill  Act  of  1890,  they  can  have  no  bearing  on  questions  pertaining  to  the  expen- 
diture of  moneys  under  the  specific  provisions  of  that  grant. 

At  a  hearing  before  the  Commission,  the  President  of  the  University  quoted 
from  an  address  delivered  by  Senator  Justin  S.  Morrill  at  the  Commencement 
of  the  University  on  the  28th  of  June,  1893,  in  which  he  spoke  at  considerable 
length  of  that  institution  as  a  land-grant  college,  and  commended  its  work  in 
carrying  out  the  purpose  of  the  Federal  grants.  Yet  it  should  be  remembered 
that  this  address  was  delivered  the  third  year  after  the  enactment  of  the 
second  Morrill  Act  which  was  approved  on  August  30,  1890.  It  appears  that  no 
money  was  received  under  this  grant  until  December  18,  1890,  so  that  when  Sena- 
tor Morrill  delivered  the  address  mentioned,  the  institution  had  had  the  benefit 
of  that  appropriation  for  three  years.  In  those  three  years  the  portion  of  that 
money  expended  for  instruction  and  facilities  in  agriculture  was  as  follows:  In 
1891,  21.45%,  in  1892,  21.83%;  and  in  1893,  18.15%.  Senator  Morrill  died  (in 
1898)  before  the  annual  sum  of  that  appropriation  reached  the  full  $25,000,  and 
more  than  eight  years  before  the  Nelson  Act  of  1907,  increasing  the  Federal  appro- 
priation so  that  four  years  thenceforth  it  should  amount  to  $50,000,  was  passed. 
When  he  spoke  in  1893,  he  had  been  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  113 

State  Agricultural  College  a  long  time,  and  presumably  was  conversant  with  the 
way  the  funds  received  under  the  Morrill  Act  of  1890  had  been  distributed  up  to 
that  time.  The  percentage  was  afterwards  decreased  within  his  lifetime  to  15  %, 
but  how  he  looked  uy)on  such  decrease,  or  whether  he  gave  the  matter  any  attention 
in  the  last  years  of  his  life,  the  Commission  has  no  information. 

What  Senator  Morrill  would  say  today,  were  he  alive  with  knowledge  of 
what  has  taken  place  in  these  respects  since  the  time  of  his  death,  no  one  can  tell. 
But  with  common  knowledge  of  his  great  services  to  the  State  of  Vermont,  of  his 
unceasing  labors  in  the  interest  of  the  industries  of  the  state  and  particularly  that 
of  agriculture,  what  can  one  imagine  he  would  say  to  know  that  in  1902,  within 
four  years  after  his  death,  but  3.5  %  was  expended  on  agriculture  by  the  land- 
grant  college  in  Vermont;  that  in  1903,  but  2.97  %  was  so  expended  by  that  insti- 
tution; that  in  1904  when  the  average  expenditure  for  such  purpose  by  the  land- 
grant  colleges  in  this  country,  from  the  same  appropriation,  was  16.8  %,  in  Vermont 
it  was  but  2.95  %;  that  in  1905  when  the  average  expenditure  by  such  colleges  was 
16.8  %,  in  Vermont  it  was  but  6  %;  that  in  1906  when  the  average  expenditure  by 
such  colleges  was  17.6  %,  in  Vermont  it  was  but  10  %;  that  in  1907  when  the  average 
expenditure  by  such  colleges  was  17.7  %,  in  Vermont  it  was  but  10  %;  that  in  1908 
when  the  average  expenditure  by  such  colleges  was  19.3  %,  in  Vermont  it  was  raised 
to  20%;  that  in  1909  when  the  average  expenditure  by  such  colleges  was  21.2%, 
in  Vermont  it  was  lowered  to  but  4.18  %,;  that  in  1910  when  the  average  expenditure 
by  such  colleges  was  21.1  %,  in  Vermont  it  was  but  9.73  %;  that  in  1911  when  the 
average  expenditure  by  such  colleges  was  22.5  %,  in  Vermont  it  was  but  9.5  %; 
that  in  1912  when  the  average  expenditure  by  such  colleges  was  22  %,  in  Vermont 
it  was  but  10.96  %;  and  that  in  Vermont  the  annual  average  during  the  last  twelve 
years  was  but  8.59  %. 

Certainly  one  should  note  the  change  of  circumstances  and  consider  pretty 
carefully  before  applying  what  Senator  Morrill  said  in  1893  to  the  conditions  of 
things  as  they  have  existed  since  his  death,  and  before  considering  what  he  said 
on  that  occasion,  as  approving  the  course  that  has  been  pursued  in  this  respect  by 
that  institution  since  his  death. 

Furthermore  it  has  been  suggested  that  there  has  been  a  tacit  approval  of 
the  University's  construction  of  these  Acts  of  appropriation  and  of  its  use  of  the 
funds,  but  such  suggestion  is  without  force  for  two  or  three  reasons,  though  we 
need  mention  but  one,  namely,  that  not  since  the  passage  of  the  Morrill  Act  of 
1890  have  the  people  of  this  state  had  knowledge  of  the  material  facts  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  funds  therein  appropriated  were  being  applied  distributively, 
and  nothing  is  more  firmly  settled  as  a  legal  or  equitable  principle  than  that  there 
can  be  no  acquiescence  without  knowledge  of  all  the  material  facts.  "And  a 
cestui  que  trust,"  it  is  said  in  Volume  2,  of  Leading  Cases  in  Equity,  notes,  page 
1789,  "will  not  be  affected  with  constructive  knowledge  of  a  breach  of  trust  merely 
because  he  might  by  inquiries  have  discovered  it." 


114  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

It  can  not  be  said  that  the  funds  received  under  the  Morrill  Act  of  1890  and  under 
the  Nelson  Act  of  1907,  have  been  expended  for  purposes  unauthorized  by  the  Acts  of 
appropriation;  and  it  is  true  that  the  treasurer's  reports  have  been  approved  by  the 
Department  at  Washington.  Yet  is  this  a  full  answer  to  the  complaint  that  these 
funds  are  being  used  by  this  institution  without  showing  that  degree  of  respect  for 
the  leading  industry  of  the  state,  fairly  contemplated  by  the  Acts  of  appropriation? 

Considering  the  superlative  importance  of  agriculture  among  the  industries 
of  life  in  this  state,  is  it  not  a  matter  for  serious  reflection,  whether  the  distribu- 
tive expenditure  of  said  annual  fund  in  a  way  to  apply  only  the  small  varying 
per  cent  shown  within  the  last  dozen  years,  with  an  average  of  only  8.59  %,  to 
distinctively  agricultural  education,  is  applying  that  fund  to  instruction  in  the 
branches  named  in  the  x'Vcts  of  appropriation  "with  special  reference  to  their  applica- 
tions in  the  industries  of  life,  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction"  as  they  have 
been  and  are  known  to  exist  in  this  state? 

The  phrase  quoted  is  an  important  part  of  the  law.  It  was  manifestly  inserted 
in  the  interests  of  the  several  states.  It  may  be  disregarded  in  the  expenditure  of 
the  funds,  and  yet  the  reports  of  treasurers  be  approved  by  the  Department, 
because  the  expenditures  reported  were  for  purposes  authorized.  This  is  as  far 
as  the  general  government  would  be  likely  to  interest  itself,  and  as  far  as  its  approval 
of  the  treasurer's  reports  has  much  significance  or  bearing  on  the  question  under 
consideration.  Whether  the  requirement  of  that  phrase  be  observed  by  the  insti- 
tution receiving  the  funds,  is  a  matter  peculiarly  of  state  concern.  It  is  in  the 
interest  of  the  public  welfare  that  the  institution  develop  courses  of  instruction 
along  the  line  of  the  state's  leading  industries;  and  so  to  do,  amounts  to  no  more 
on  the  part  of  the  institution  than  the  faithful  performance  of  its  duties  toward 
the  people  of  the  state,  the  real  beneficaries  of  the  trust.  Faithful  performance 
in  this  respect  requires  not  only  that  the  expenditure  be  authorized  by  the  Acts 
of  appropriation,  but  that  it  conform  to  the  provisions  of  the  trust  in  their  true 
spirit,  intent,  and  meaning.  It  is  said  by  Mr.  Pomeroy,  in  his  work  on  Equitj'^ 
Jurisprudence,  Vol.  2,  Sec.  1062,  that  trustees  are  bound  in  the  first  place,  "to 
conform  strictly  to  the  directions  of  the  trust."  And  that,  "A  trustee  can  use 
the  property  only  for  the  purposes  contemplated  in  the  trust,  and  must  conform 
to  the  provisions  of  the  trust  in  their  true  spirit,  intent,  and  meaning,  and  not 
merely  in  their  letter." 

In  the  matter  of  Tappan's  Appeal,  found  in  the  52d  of  Connecticut  Reports, 
page  412,  the  testatrix  suggested  four  different  modes  for  the  administration  and 
dispensation  of  the  public  charity  there  in  question,  and  declared  her  preference 
for  the  first  mode  named  "if  the  same  be  made  practical  and  legal  for  the  purpose;" 
but  if  for  any  reason  the  first  named  mode  could  not  be  legally  carried  into  effect, 
then  she  declared  her  preference  for  the  second  mode  suggested;  in  like  manner 
for  the  third  and  fourth  modes  in  their  order.  It  was  held  that  the  appellent  was 
in  error  when  she  claimed  that  the  trustees  had  the  discretionary  power  to  select 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  116 

either  of  the  modes  prescribed  for  administration  of  the  trust;  that  they  had  no 
discretion  in  the  matter;  that  they  must  take  the  first,  if  that  mode  should  be 
found  to  be  practicable  and  legal;  but  if  not,  then  they  must  resort  to  the  second, 
and  that  must  be  the  mode,  if  legal  for  the  purpose,  and  so  on  with  the  third  and 
fourth  modes  stated. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  the  phrase  quoted  above  from  the  Morrill 
Act  of  1890,  considered  in  its  relation  to  the  entire  provision  of  which  it  is  a  part, 
was  intended  to  prescribe,  and  does  prescribe  with  reasonable  certainty,  the  course 
to  be  pursued  in  making  the  annual  distributive  allotment  of  the  appropriation 
under  that  Act  to  the  branches  named  therein,  and  this  course  must  be  substan- 
tially followed  in  order  to  effect  a  performance  of  the  trust  in  a  manner  that  shall 
properly  respect  the  state's  leading  industries  of  life;  and,  except  as  to  such  portion 
as  may  be  used  in  the  special  preparation  of  instructors  for  teaching  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  the  same  course  w  as  prescribed  to  be  followed  in  the  expen- 
diture of  the  moneys  appropriated  under  the  Nelson  Act  of  1907.  The  Commission 
is  of  the  further  opinion  that,  owing  to  the  policy  of  the  trustees  of  the  University 
of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  this  course  has  not  been  substantially 
followed  in  the  expenditure  of  the  moneys  received  under  these  two  acts  of  appro- 
priation, and  consequently  that  that  institution  has  failed  to  perform  its  duties  and 
obligations  in  conformity  with  the  true  spirit,  intent,  and  meaning  of  the  provi- 
sions of  the  trust,  and  it  is  so  determined. 

It  is  manifest  that  as  to  agriculture,  efficient  work  and  satisfactory  results 
can  not  be  had  in  this  institution  without  a  change  in  the  policy  of  the  trustees. 
Moreover  it  appears  that  the  agricultural  equipment  of  the  institution  is  meager — 
too  meager  for  the  kind  and  the  quality  of  work  which  should  be  done.  This  meager- 
ness  may  fairly  be  assigned,  first,  to  the  fact  that  the  moneys  under  the  Federal 
appropriations  have,  to  so  disproportionately  small  extent,  been  applied  to  agricul- 
ture and  to  facilities  for  instructions  therein;  and  secondly,  to  inadequate  aid  by 
way  of  specific  state  appropriations; — to  the  former,  more  than  to  the  latter. 

The  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  under  the  subdivision  of  "The  State 
Agricultural  College,"  pages  164-172,  should  be  carefully  studied.  We  quote 
with  approval  therefrom: 

"To  sum  up  the  situation  with  respect  to  the  College  of  Agriculture,  it  may  be 
said  that  its  courses  are  not  based  upon  a  consistent  educational  policy,  that  the 
equipment  for  teaching  is  meager,  that  on  their  practical  side  the  courses  seriously 
lack  equipment,  and  that  by  reason  of  these  conditions  the  College  of  Agriculture 
is  not  adapted  to  serve  well  either  the  needs  of  the  boy  who  desires  to  be  a  practical 
farmer  or  those  of  the  youth  who  looks  toward  a  scientific  training  in  agriculture, 
and  finally,  that  this  whole  situation  has  lent  itself  to  a  regime  under  which  the 
college  has  a  very  slender  connection  with  the  agricultural  industries  of  the  state. 
It  does  not  help  or  guide  these  industries  in  any  such  way  as  should  be  expected  of 
an  efficient  agricultural  college. 


116  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

"These  statements  are  not  made  with  any  desire  to  criticize  the  professors 
in  the  Agricultural  College.  These  professors  are  excellent  men,  and  they  have 
done  admirably  with  the  means  that  they  have  had  at  their  command.  The  situa- 
tion in  which  the  College  of  Agriculture  finds  itself — the  lack  of  equipment,  the 
empirical  quality  of  its  courses,  and  the  failure  to  connect  itself  with  the  industries 
of  the  state — is  the  result  of  a  policy  of  administration  for  which  the  trustees  are 
responsible.  This  consists  in  the  expenditure  that  the  trustees  make  of  the  generous 
annual  gift  that  the  state  receives  from  the  United  States  government.  *  *  * 


"The  most  practical  and  definite  obligation  of  the  state  at  the  present  time  in 
higher  education  is  to  see  that  a  clear  policy  is  entered  upon  as  to  the  function  of 
the  Agricultural  College,  and  that  then,  in  the  second  place,  the  college  shall  be 
adequately   supported. 


"  *  *  *  By  every  consideration  of  efficiency  and  of  state  pride  the  commonwealth 
should  insist  that  a  fair  proportion  of  the  United  States  annual  grant  shall  go  into 
agricultural  instruction,  and  it  should  supplement  this  income  by  such  means  as 
are  necessary  to  effect  the  contact  between  the  agricultural  school  and  the  agricul- 
tural industries,  a  cause  which  is  not  within  the  provisions  of  the  grants  made  by 
the   general  government. 


"In  addition  to  giving  to  the  Agricultural  College  an  adequate  support,  it  is 
also  clearly  the  duty  of  the  trustees  to  set  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  free 
to  bend  its  efforts  directly  and  energetically  to  the  investigation  of  those  problems 
whose  solution  means  so  much  to  the  individual  farmer  and  dairyman.  There  is 
an  enormous  field  in  Vermont  for  the  Agricultural  College  and  the  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station,  but  in  order  that  these  agencies  may  do  their  work,  there 
must  be  a  clear  conception  of  what  that  work  ought  to  be,  a  suitable  organization 
for  carrying  it  out,  and  a  use  of  the  money  now  in  hand  for  the  purposes  of  agricul- 
ture rather  than  for  the  purposes  of  general  instruction." 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  Commission  to  belittle  any  other  branches  of  educa- 
tion, nor  does  the  Commission  recommend  the  taking  from  such  other  branches, 
or  any  of  them,  any  portion  of  the  money  received  under  the  Federal  grants,  which, 
under  the  proper  administration  of  the  trust  connected  with  those  grants,  should 
be  applied  to  such  other  branches.  To  do  that  would  be  as  much  a  deviation  from 
the  proper  course  as  it  is  to  deprive  agriculture  of  the  portion  to  which  it  is  entitled. 
By  giving  emphasis  to  agricultural  education  in  the  University  of  Vermont  and 
State  Agricultural  College,  the  Commission  is  not  to  be  understood  as  in  any  sense 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS  117 

narrowing  education.  As  already  seen,  agriculture  is  Vermont's  predominating 
industry  of  life  and  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Commission  to  make  recommendations 
looking  to  the  proper  application  of  the  money  allotted  to  that  institution  under 
legislation  requiring  such  money  to  be  expended  by  it  with  special  reference  to 
the  relative  prominence  of  the  state's  industries. 

The  Commission  believes  that  a  change  in  policy  by  the  trustees  may  be  looked 
for,  whereby  agriculture  will  receive  proper  consideration  in  the  annual  distribu- 
tive expenditure  of  the  Federal  appropriations.  This  belief  is  based  particularly 
upon  what  was  said  at  a  hearing  before  the  Commission  by  one  of  the  prominent 
trustees.  He  was  asked  by  one  of  the  Commissioners  if  he  thought  that  they  had 
expended  the  Federal  agricultural  appropriation  wisely  and  well  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  made.  Protesting  that  there  had  been  no 
misuse  of  the  Federal  funds,  he  answered  in  substance  that  he  thought  the  time  has 
come  when  the  policy  of  the  institution  towards  the  agricultural  appropriation  is 
wrong ;  that  from  now  on  they  have,  and  perhaps  from  a  time  that  dates  back  possibly 
eight  or  ten  years  they  had,  the  opportunity  to  make  better  use  of  that  Federal 
appropriation  ;  and  that  if  the  policy  was  wrong  it  should  have  been  corrected 
before,  but  certainly  should  be  corrected  now, —  adding  that  he  had  previously 
taken  this  position  on  the  board  of  trustees. 

With  a  change  effected  in  this  direction,  so  as  fairly,  and  reasonably,  and  sym- 
pathetically to  conform  to  the  provisions  of  the  trust  in  their  true  spirit,  intent, 
and  meaning,  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  may  be 
looked  to  for  efficient  training  in  scientific  agriculture;  but  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Commission  its  agricultural  function  should  not  include  training  in  practical  voca- 
tional farming  at  the  institution,  beyond  what  may  be  essential  to  the  efficient 
performance  of  its  function  to  develop  scientific  agriculture,  or  what  may  be  nec- 
essary there  in  carrying  out  the  extension  work  under  the  Acts  of  Congress.  The 
teaching  of  practical  vocational  farming  and  the  incidents  thereto  constitute  the 
function  of  the  State  Agricultural  School  at  Randolph.  The  Commission  believes 
that  neither  of  these  institutions  can  efficiently  perform  the  functions  of  the  other, 
and  that  neither  should,  in  any  real  sense,  attempt  to  encroach  upon  or  duplicate 
the  work  of  the  other.  As  to  the  proper  function  of  the  Agricultural  College  we 
call  attention  to  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  (page  171) : 

"Shall  the  function  of  the  Agricultural  College  be  to  train  farm  boys  in  the  tech- 
nique of  their  vocation  in  some  such  way  as  they  are  trained  in  the  agricultural 
school  at  Lyndonville,  or  shall  its  function  be  to  develop  scientific  agriculture  in 
Vermont?  Either  one  of  these  functions  is  defensible,  but  they  cannot  both  be 
carried  on  simultaneously.  Our  experience  of  fifty  years  in  agricultural  education 
goes  to  show  that  a  trade  school  will  not  grow  in  a  university  atmosphere,  and  that 
the  real  function  of  a  university  college  of  agriculture  is  the  promotion  of  scientific 
agriculture  and  the  maintenance  at  the  same  time  of  right  relations  to  elementary 
agricultural  training-schools.     The  second,  and  in  some  ways  the  greatest,  function 


118  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

of  a  technical  college  of  agriculture  is  the  development  of  a  fruitful  and  stimulating 
relation  with  the  farming  industries  of  the  state  in  which  it  stands.  To  be  in  close 
touch  with  the  agricultural  problems  of  the  state,  to  deal  with  these  problems  by 
the  best  means  that  science  affords,  and  to  put  the  fruits  of  these  investigations 
by  simple,  direct,  and  feasible  methods  into  the  hands  of  the  farmers  themselves, 
is  the  greatest  function  that  such  an  agency  can  perform." 

In  this  connection,  it  should  further  be  said  by  way  of  emphasizing  the  impor- 
tance of  this  class  of  instruction,  that,  in  order  for  efficient  work  in  the  high 
schools  of  the  state  along  the  lines  of  agriculture,  it  is  essential  that  teachers  be 
had,  who  are  qualified  therefor,  and  to  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agri- 
cultural College,  the  state  must  largely  look  for  the  training  of  such  teachers. 

It  is  said  in  the  report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  for 
the  year  ending  June  30,  1913,  (of  which  volume  I  only  is  out,)  page  212: 

"The  increase  in  the  number  of  students  in  the  agricultural  colleges  was  greater  in 
1912-13  than  ever  before,  and  the  increase  was  well  distributed  throughout  the 
United  States.  A  large  part  of  this  increase  is  due  to  the  demand  for  teachers  of 
agriculture  and  for  county  demonstration  agents. 


"According  to  the  most  reliable  information  obtainable,  there  were  about 
2,300  high  schools  in  the  United  States  teaching  agriculture  in  1912-13.  This 
indicates  an  increase  of  about  300  over  the  previous  year.  *  *  * 

"Agriculture  is  more  and  more  coming  to  be  considered  a  fit  subject  of  study 
for  the  elementary  school,  but  at  the  same  time  the  need  of  trained  teachers  is 
widely  recognized  as  a  serious  hindrance." 

In  the  passage  of  the  Nelson  Act  of  1907,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
in  an  unqualified  manner,  recognized  the  importance  of  having  specially  trained 
teachers,  by  authorizing  the  use  of  a  portion  of  the  money  thereby  appropriated 
in  "providing  courses  for  the  special  preparation  of  instructors  for  teaching  the 
elements  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts."  And  in  the  rulings  and  instruc- 
tions approved  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  November  2,  1911, 
section  8  reads: 

"8.  All  or  a  part  of  the  funds  provided  by  the  act  of  March  4,  1907,  may  be 
used  'for  providing  courses  for  the  special  preparation  of  instructors  for  teaching 
the  elements  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts.'  It  is  held  that  this  language 
authorizes  expenditures  for  instruction  in  the  history  of  agriculture  and  industrial 
education,  in  methods  of  teaching  agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home  economics, 
and  also  for  special  aid  and  supervision  given  to  teachers  actively  engaged  in  teach- 
ing agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  home  economics  in  public  schools.  It  does  not 
authorize  expenditures  for  general  courses  in  pedagogy,  psychology,  history  of 
education,  and  methods  of  teaching." 


COLLEGE  OF  MEDICINE  119 

The  national  policy  thus  shown  voices  a  sentiment  that  should  touch  a  respon- 
sive chord   throughout   this   domain. 

In  the  mind  of  the  Commission,  the  state,  acting  in  the  special  interest  of  her 
great  agricultural  industry,  proper  assurances  being  had,  may  well  lend  such  aid  as 
shall  be  reasonably  necessary  to  the  suitable  equipment  of  the  agricultural  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College;  and  believing 
that  henceforward  there  will  be  an  increasing  need  of  trained  teachers  qualified  to 
teach  agriculture  in  the  secondary  schools  of  the  state,  and  consequently  that  the 
production  of  such  teachers  by  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College  will  be  for  the  special  interest  of  the  state,  the  Commission  recommends 
that  the  board  of  education  be  authorized  to  make  suitable  arrangements  with  that 
institution  for  the  training  of  this  class  of  teachers,  if  it  can  be  done  upon  a  reason- 
able basis  without  duplication  as  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  Duplication,  and  that 
money  be  appropriated  to  enable  the  board,  under  its  supervision,  to  carry  out  the 
arrangements  so  made,  and  that  the  work  under  this  arrangement  should  be  done  in 
such  a  manner  as  shall  make  the  department,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  though 
not  in  law,  relate  to  the  state. 

3.  University  of  Vermont — College  of  Medicine 

In  support  of  the  claim  that  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College  is  not  a  private  but  a  public  corporation  and  therefore  entitled  as  a  matter 
of  right  to  state  support,  representatives  of  that  institution  have  said  little  respecting 
the  exact  relationship  existing  between  the  College  of  Medicine  and  the  state. 
After  a  century  of  existence  of  merely  a  nominal  connection  with  the  University 
of  Vermont,  the  College  of  Medicine  was  made,  in  1899,  "a  coordinating  department 
of  the  university  under  the  control  of  the  board  of  trustees."  In  1911,  according 
to  the  catalogue,  it  was  ''made  a  part  of  the  university  system,"  and  no  claim  has 
been  made  before  the  Commission  that  it  was  in  character,  that  is,  public  or  private, 
different  from  the  institution  of  which  it  thus  forms  a  part. 

The  Commission  has  signally  failed  in  its  purpose  if  it  has  not  made  clear  the 
principle  upon  which,  in  its  judgment,  state  appropriations  to  higher  education, 
for  the  present  at  least,  may  legitimately  and  properly  be  based.  That  principle 
measures  the  state's  duty  and  obligation  to  higher  education  by  the  specific  and 
needed  service  it  performs  for  the  state.  The  only  question,  therefore,  material 
here,  is :  Does  the  College  of  Medicine  perform  such  a  service?  That  its  service — 
the  training  of  physicians  and  surgeons — is  specific,  is  unquestionable.  ^\Tiether 
it  is  needed  by  the  state  is  to  be  determined  by  the  service  rendered  and  likely  to 
be  rendered,  and  the  cost  thereof. 

There  is  one  standard  only  governing  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery, 
eflficiency,  and  that  standard  is  uniform  in  all  states.  In  recommending  a  state 
appropriation  for  the  support  of  a  school  of  pedagogy  in  Middlebury  College  the 


120  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERjMONT 

Commission  is  influenced  thereto  by  the  fact  that  those  who  are  to  teach  the 
youth  of  Vermont  can  do  more  efficient  work  when  prepared  therefor  in  the  en- 
vironment in  which  they  are  to  teach,  and  this,  as  pointed  out  in  our  discussion  of 
the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  because  environment  is  such  an  important 
element  in  instruction.  The  state  needs  teachers  trained  in  the  state.  She  needs 
the  best  and  the  highest  trained  physicians  and  surgeons;  but  unlike  teachers,  that 
they  receive  their  training  in  Vermont  is  of  no  importance  in  determining  their 
qualifications  to  practice  here. 

This  uniformity  of  standard  is  well  shown  by  the  work  of  the  American  Medical 
Association.  This  body  "representing  the  organized  medical  profession  of  this 
country,  was  organized  in  1846  for  the  express  purpose  of  improving  medical 
education."  In  1904  the  governing  body  of  the  association  created  a  permanent 
committee,  the  Council  on  Medical  Education,  whose  function  was  "to  collect  and 
publish  reliable  information  regarding  medical  education,  and  to  do  what  it  could 
to  secure  the  adoption  of  better  educational  standards."  Through  the  work  of  the 
council,  an  "ideal  standard"  of  entrance  requirements  to  medical  schools  was  fixed, 
a  standard  that  included  the  requirement  of  one  year  of  work  devoted  to  college 
courses  in  physics,  chemistry  and  biology,  in  addition  to  the  completion  of  a  standard 
four-year  high  school  course.  Medical  institutions  meeting  this  requirement  are 
rated  by  the  association  as  Class  A,  and  the  Commission  understands  that  medical 
schools  of  a  still  higher  rank,  having  an  entrance  requirement  of  two  years  of  college 
work,  are  rated  by  the  association  as  Class  A+.  In  1900,  only  two  medical  schools 
required  any  preliminary  training  beyond  a  high  school  course;  and  this  require- 
ment was  largely  nominal.  Through  the  work  of  the  association,  however,  the 
number  of  medical  schools  has  been  reduced  since  1906  from  162  to  106,  31  of  which 
are  in  Class  A+  and  21  in  Class  A.  Extended  mention  of  this  work  of  the  American 
Medical  Association  is  here  made  because  there  have  been  current  suggestions  of  a 
nation-wide  conspiracy  having  for  its  object  the  elimination  of  the  smaller  medical 
schools — the  establishment  of  a  trust  in  medical  education — a  criticism  levelled  in 
some  degree  at  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the  iVdvancement  of  Teaching,  due 
doubtless  to  the  fact  that  at  the  time  the  American  Medical  Association  published 
its  second  classification  in  1910,  the  Carnegie  Foundation  published  its  report  on 
medical  education  in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  The  conspiracy — if  that  be 
a  proper  term — is  one  of  good.  Of  this  work  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education,  in  his  report  for  1913,  of  which  volume  I  is  just  received,  says,  "As  may 
be  surmised,  the  marked  reduction  in  the  number  of  medical  colleges  has  not  been 
to  the  detriment  of  medical  education  but  has  been  to  its  advantage;  it  has  not 
lessened  the  opportunities  for  students  to  study  medicine,  but  has  provided  them 
with  greater  opportunities  in  better-equipped  colleges."  The  College  of  Medicine 
itself  makes  no  complaint  of  this  so-called  conspiracy.  Rather  it  has  voluntarily 
adopted  the  standards  set  up  by  the  American  Medical  Association,  for  in  the  fall 
of  1912,  the  Vermont  institution  raised  its  entrance  requirements  to  those  of  Class  A. 


COLLEGE  OF  MEDICINE  121 

Throughout  the  state,  in  ahnost  every  city  and  village,  graduates  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont  College  of  Medicine  by  efficient  practice  of  their  profession  give 
testimony  to  the  good  training  received  by  them  at  that  institution.  It  is  but 
natural  that  they  should  champion  the  continued  existence  of  their  professional 
Alma,  Mater.  The  question  before  this  Commission,  however,  is  not  one  of  senti- 
ment but  of  justice.  It  has  been  urged  that  without  the  College  of  Medicine  there 
will  be  no  source  to  supply  competent  practitioners  for  the  state.  The  experience 
of  other  states,  however,  that  are  without  medical  schools  and  that  are  nevertheless 
adequately  served  in  this  respect,  deprives  this  argument  of  any  force.  As  well 
might  it  be  said  that  Vermont's  churches  must  close  their  doors  for  want  of  clergy- 
men because  the  state  has  no  school  of  theology,  or  that  the  laws  of  the  state  can 
not  be  properly  interpreted  and  the  rights  of  her  people  thereunder  protected, 
without  a  school  of  law. 

Granting,  however,  that  the  service  rendered  to  the  state  by  the  College  of 
Medicine  is  of  a  character  to  justify  the  state  in  sustaining  it  by  appropriation  of 
the  public  money,  the  question  then  becomes  a  relative  one,  namely,  Should  the 
state  continue  to  grant  a  subsidy  to  the  College  of  Medicine  at  Burlington — a  grant 
in  no  way  related  to  the  state's  policy  of  public  instruction — and  fail  to  meet  fully 
its  consitutional  obligation  to  furnish  to  all  the  youth  of  the  state  an  adequate  pre- 
paration for  everyday  life.?  In  1909  the  state  appropriated  to  the  College  of 
Medicine,  $10,000,  and  this  appropriation  was  increased  for  the  year  1913  to 
$23,500.  The  admissions  declined  from  55  in  1909  to  40  in  1911,  and  in  1912,  when 
the  new  entrance  requirements,  by  which  the  college  entered  Class  A,  were  adopted, 
only  12  students  were  admitted,  of  which  only  3  were  from  Vermont.  In  the  enter- 
ing class  of  1913  of  18,  8  were  from  Vermont.  The  report  of  the  Carnegie  Founda- 
tion refers  this  decline  in  student  attendance  to  the  increased  entrance  require- 
ments voluntarily  and  rightly  adopted  by  the  college.  The  result,  however,  indi- 
cates that  if  the  college  is  to  maintain  a  proper  standing  among  medical  institutions, 
it  does  not  offer  sufficient  inducement  to  attract  students  in  numbers  sufficient  to 
warrant  its  continuance  by  state  support  or  otherwise.  Indeed,  the  dean  of  the 
institution  has  been  frank  to  say  that  in  order  to  maintain  the  standing  of  the 
College  of  Medicine,  enlarged  clinical  facilities  must  be  had. 

Respecting  this  matter,  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  in  his 
report  referred  to,  says  "Another  marked  development  in  medical  education  is  the 
provision  for  more  adequate  clinical  facilities  by  a  larger  number  of  medical  colleges, 
either  through  securing  hospitals  both  owned  and  controlled  by  the  medical  school 
or  through  contract  relationships  with  large  hospitals  whereby  the  medical  college 
has  been  given  more  liberal  control  of  the  clinical  facilities.  This  is  an  exceedingly 
important  matter  in  medical  education.  If  young  physicians  are  to  go  forth  prop- 
erly qualified  to  recognize  and  treat  the  various  complex  disorders  that  affect 
mankind,  it  is  necessary  that  during  their  medical  course  they  have  the  opportunity, 
under  proper  supervision,  to  study  sick  patients  at  the  bedside  in  the  hospital.'* 


122  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

In  an  address  before  the  Merchants'  Association,  in  Burhngton,  on  March  19,  1914, 
Dean  Henry  C.  Tinkham  referred  particuhirly  to  the  inadequate  cHnical  faciUties 
of  the  College  of  Medicine.  He  said  in  substance  that  there  should  be  hospital 
facilities  aggregating  200  beds,  or  100  beds  in  addition  to  those  now  available;  and 
that  this  need  could  be  met  in  two  ways :  either  by  additions  to  the  Mary  Fletcher 
and  Fanny  Allen  hospitals,  or  by  the  college  itself  erecting  a  hospital.  Doctor 
Tinkham  regards  the  first  plan  as  the  more  feasible  one  and  believes  that  it  could 
be  carried  out  at  a  cost  of  about  $50,000  or  $75,000.  His  conclusion  is  squarely 
in  agreement  with  that  reached  by  the  Carnegie  Foundation  in  its  report,  which 
says,  "Somewhere  between  $50,000  and  $75,000  will  be  needed  to  conduct  in  Bur- 
lington a  school  upon  a  university  basis  and  capable  of  giving  a  medical  education 
adequate  to  the  demands  of  present-day  teaching."  Of  this  money,  Doctor  Tink- 
ham believes  that  the  state  should  appropriate  something  less  than  $50,000,  but 
more  than  its  present  appropriation  of  $23,500.  The  urgency  of  this  need  of  in- 
creased appropriations  by  the  state  is  apparent  from  Dean  Tinkham's  statement 
that  unless  the  conditions  in  the  College  of  Medicine,  particularly  in  regard  to 
hospital  facilities,  are  improved  by  February  of  next  year — ^at  the  biennial  rating 
of  medical  schools  by  the  American  Medical  Association — the  institution  will  be 
reduced  in  rating  to  Class  B. 

In  brief,  the  head  of  the  College  of  Medicine  frankly  announces  that  unless 
the  state  immediately  increases  its  appropriation,  the  institution  will  be  lacking  in 
those  facilities  required  by  institutions  of  the  rank  now  held  by  it  and  necessarily 
attract  fewer  students  than  now.  This  Commission,  in  the  performance  of  its  duty 
toward  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools  of  the  state,  has  been  compelled 
to  recommend  the  withdrawal  of  existing  state  appropriations  to  higher  education 
in  general.  How,  then,  can  it  be  reasonably  expected  that  the  state  should  not 
only  continue,  but  also  increase,  its  present  appropriation  to  an  institution  not 
situated  to  perform  any  specific  service  for  the  state  more  than  other  institutions 
in  providing  education,  not  of  a  character  beneficial  to  a  general  student  body, 
but  to  a  few  students  seeking  special  professional  training?  \  ^^ 


X 

MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE 

MiDDLEBURY  College  is  a  private  institution,  chartered  under  the  name  of  The 
President  and  Fellows  of  Middlebury  College.  In  1908  the  legislature  appropriated 
to  that  college  $8,400,  of  which  $6,000  annually  was  "for  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  a  department  of  pedagogy  for  the  education  and  training  of  high 
school  teachers  in  said  institution."  It  was  provided  by  the  same  Act  that  the 
fellows  of  the  college  should  make  an  annual  report  to  the  governor  of  the  work 
done  in  behalf  of  the  department  of  pedagogy,  together  with  a  statement  in  detail 
of  all  expenditures  made  in  its  promotion.  In  1910  the  legislature  appropriated 
to  that  college  $16,000,  of  which  $13,600  annually  was  "for  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  a  department  of  pedagogy  for  the  education  and  training  of  high 
school  teachers  in  said  institution,  and  to  provide  instruction  in  forestry  and  other 
subjects  relating  to  the  industries  of  Vermont."  In  1912  the  legislature  appro- 
priated to  that  college  $12,800,  of  which  $10,400  "shall  be  annually  expended  by 
such  institution  in  providing  instruction  in  subjects  essential  for  students  prepar- 
ing to  teach  in  Vermont  high  schools  and  academies." 

It  has  been  urged  before  this  Commission  by  the  President  and  Fellows  of 
Middlebury  College  that  the  department  of  pedagogy  should  be  continued  for  the 
training  of  high  school  teachers,  so  that  the  high  schools  may  be  supplied  largely 
with  teachers  who  have  received  such  special  training  in  the  state,  and  consequently 
that  state  aid  should  be  given.  We  have  already  recommended  teacher-training 
classes  in  selected  high  schools  to  meet  the  demand  for  well-trained  teachers  in 
the  elementary  schools.  We  discuss  above  the  importance  of  having  teachers  in 
the  high  schools  specially  qualified  to  give  instruction  along  the  lines  of  agricul- 
tural training,  and  make  recommendations  looking  to  the  training  of  such  teachers 
by  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College.  It  is  also  essential 
to  efficient  work  in  the  high  schools  and  to  satisfactory  results,  that  professionally 
trained  teachers  be  had  for  the  work,  other  than  that  pertaining  more  particularly 
to  agriculture,  to  the  end  that  the  whole  problem  of  secondary  instruction  may  be 
solved  in  a  manner  most  for  the  public  good.  There  seems  to  be  no  lack  of  appli- 
cants for  positions  as  teachers  in  the  secondary  schools.  But  is  the  state  reasonably 
sure  of  obtaining  teachers  of  the  efficiency  necessary  for  the  class  of  work  desired 
unless  the  state  interests  herself  in  the  training  of  such  teachers?  Other  things 
equal,  a  teacher  professionally  trained  in  the  state's  atmosphere,  conscious  of, 
and  in  sympathy  with,  the  lives  and  needs  of  the  state's  youth  is  better  equipped 
for  educational  work  in  the  state's  secondary  schools  than  a  teacher  from  without 
the  state,  not  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  success  according  to  the  state's  needs  and 
progressive  educational  aim.  It  is  said  by  President  A.  Lawrence  Lowell  of 
Harvard  University,  in  his  work  on  The  Government  of  England,  Vol.  2,  page  329, 
"The  growing  interest  in  secondary  education  gave  rise  to  another  royal  commis- 


124  MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE 

sion,  appointed  in  1894,  with  Mr.  (James)  Bryce  (author  of  the  American  Common- 
wealth) at  its  head.  Like  its  predecessor  thirty  years  before,  it  made  an  elaborate 
inquiry,  and  added  one  more  to  the  great  reports  on  English  education."  And  on 
page  338,  note  3,  the  author,  referring  to  that  commission,  says,  "The  lack  of  pro- 
fessionally trained  teachers  for  the  secondary  schools  themselves  was  one  of  the 
matters  on  which  the  commission  of  1894  laid  stress." 

In  the  report  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  page  11,  it  is  said: 

"It  may  be  added  that  the  teachers  necessary  for  the  secondary  schools  are 
already  supplied  in  suflBcient  numbers  by  the  colleges,  but  the  examination  that 
has  been  made  shows  that  the  quality  of  these  teachers,  so  far  as  their  knowledge  of 
theoretical  and  practical  teaching  is  concerned,  leaves  much  to  be  desired.  It 
is  clear  that  if  the  colleges  are  to  supply  a  teacher  equal  to  the  work  of  the  secondary 
school,  they  must  give  these  teachers  a  far  more  practical  training  in  teaching  than 
has  hitherto  been  the  case." 

The  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  (in  his  report,  page  25,  for  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1913,  of  which  volume  I  only  is  out),  states  that  "The  State 
of  Rhode  Island,  through  its  legislature,  has  entered  into  cooperation  with  Brown 
University  for  the  professional  education  of  college  graduates  desiring  to  prepare 
for  positions  as  high-school  teachers  or  principals." 

A  course  not  materially  unlike  the  one  here  recommended,  has  been  pursued 
in  England,  for  substantially  the  same  purpose.  Thus  President  Lowell  (in  his 
work  on  the  Government  of  England,  Vol.  2,  page  350),  speaking  concerning  public 
aid  to  provincial  universities  and  university  colleges,  says,  "The  grants  from  the 
national  government  are  given  partly  by  the  Education  Department,  on  account 
of  scientific  courses  and  the  training  of  teachers;  sometimes  partly  by  the  Agricul- 
tural Department  also,  on  account  of  instruction  in  farming;  *  *  *  " 

Should  the  public  schools  be  reorganized  as  recommended  in  this  report,  more 
high-school  teachers  will  be  needed  in  this  state  than  ever  before. 

The  Commission  is  therefore  of  the  opinion,  that  it  is  for  the  special  interest 
of  the  state  to  have  teachers  of  this  class  professionally  trained  in  the  state  for 
work  in  the  secondary  schools,  and  that  to  this  end,  the  department  of  pedagogy 
at  Middlebury  should  be  continued;  that  this  should  be  done  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  make  it,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  though  not  in  law,  a  state  department;  that 
the  state  board  of  education  should  be  authorized  by  law  to  make  arrangements  with 
Middlebury  College  for  that  purpose  on  reasonable  terms  and  conditions,  to  the 
extent  necessary  to  fulfil  the  purpose  of  the  law  in  such  behalf,  all  under  the  super- 
vision and  control  of  said  board,  without  duplication  as  discussed  in  the  chapter 
on  Duplication.  The  work  of  the  department  of  pedagogy,  limited  as  above 
indicated,  being  for  the  special  interest  of  the  state,  appropriations  should  be  made 
to  enable  the  state  board  of  education  to  carry  out,  in  spirit  and  meaning,  the 
arrangements  made  by  said  board  in  this  respect. 


XI 
NORWICH  UNIVERSITY 

Norwich  University  was  founded  in  1819  by  Captain  Alden  Partridge  and  was 
chartered  by  the  legislature  in  1834.  Captain  Partridge  was  a  former  superin- 
tendent of  West  Point  and  instruction  in  military  science  seems  not  only  to  have 
been  the  fundamental  purpose  of  the  establishment  of  this  institution  but  has  ever 
since  remained  its  controlling  influence.  Here  things  military  are  not  an  incident 
to  the  collegiate  work:  they  are  the  principal;  and  while  a  measure  of  instruction 
in  military  science  is  undoubtedly  of  value  to  the  youth  by  way  of  inculcating  due 
regard  for  authority,  the  measure  of  militarism  that  pervades  the  curriculum  at 
Norwich  University  goes  far  beyond  any  reasonable  requirements  in  that  respect. 
The  military  training  given  at  Norwich  University  is  of  a  class  second  only  to  that 
given  at  West  Point.  The  Commission  is  informed  that  actually  more  time  is 
devoted  to  things  military  at  Norwich  than  at  West  Point,  a  singular  fact  since 
the  avowed  purpose  of  training  at  West  Point  is  the  preparation  of  young  men  for 
the  profession  of  arms  while  that  of  Norwich  is  the  preparation  of  young  men  for 
civil  life  with  opportunities  for  a  select  few  to  enter  military  life. 

In  the  military  training  given,  Norwich  is  ranked  by  the  government  as  a  "dis- 
tinguished" institution.  As  an  institution  of  higher  learning,  aside  from  the  military 
instruction  given,  it  is,  so  far  as  the  evidence  before  the  Commission  discloses,  an 
institution  of  no  special  distinction  and  inferior  in  educational  facilities  to  the 
state's  other  institutions  of  higher  learning.  Norwich  University  has  sent  forth 
into  life  men  who  have  made  history  in  the  army  and  in  the  navy  of  the  country, 
and  in  civil  life.  Its  record  is  a  proud  one.  But  these  things  alone  do  not  warrant 
the  Commission  in  extending  to  it  particular  consideration,  for  the  same  is  true  of 
the  state's  other  institutions  of  higher  learning.  What  is  there,  then,  respecting 
Norwich  University  that  entitles  it  to  state  assistance? 

The  Commission  is  firmly  convinced,  and  throughout  this  report  has  frequently 
announced,  that  there  is  one  rule  only  by  which  the  duty  and  obligation  of  the  state 
to  institutions  of  higher  learning  can  be  measured,  that  is,  that  until  the  state's 
elementary  and  secondary  schools  are  placed  upon  a  firm  foundation  with  a  system 
reorganized  and  amply  maintained  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  herein 
made,  no  duty  or  obligation  rests  upon  the  state  to  assist  institutions  of  higher 
learning  other  than  such  assistance  as  may  naturally  result  from  the  performance 
by  such  institutions  of  some  specific  work  for  the  state  and  required  by  the  state 
in  the  carrying  out  of  its  policy  for  the  proper  development  and  maintenance  of  its 
elementary  and  secondary  schools. 

Measured  by  this  rule,  by  what  does  Norwich  University  justify  its  claim  for 
assistance  by  the  state?  The  notable  record  of  the  institution,  and  of  its  many 
illustrious  graduates,  is  a  source  of  just  pride  to  every  Vermonter.  It  is  gratifying 
to  know  that  the  state  has  within  her  borders  a  military  school,  one  of  a  class  of 


126  NORWICH  UNIVERSITY 

16  institutions  throughout  the  country  ranking  not  far  below  West  Point.  But 
in  these  days  of  peace,  when  there  is  an  urgent  need  for  unUmited  state  support  of 
the  common  schools,  whereby  every  boy  and  girl  may  receive  the  best  possible 
equipment  to  meet  the  ordinary  duties  and  responsibilities  of  life,  where  is  the 
justification  for  lending  support  to  an  institution  whose  principal  work  is  training 
for  the  profession  of  arms? 

The  state  has  been  increasingly  generous  to  this  institution  for  more  than  half  a 
century.  In  1852  it  received  a  liberal  portion  of  the  school  fund;  in  1884  the  legis- 
lature appropriated  $1,500  annually,  to  be  used  in  the  payment  of  tuitions  and  room 
rent  of  thirty  cadets,  this  appropriation  being  raised  in  1892  to  $2,400  annually; 
in  1898  the  amount  was  further  increased  to  $6,000,  of  which  $3,600  per  year  was 
given  "for  carrying  out  the  provisions  and  purposes  of  the  charter;"  in  1904  the 
appropriation  was  again  raised  to  $11,000,  the  sum  of  $5,000  being  granted  for  the 
period  of  ten  years  "to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  engineering  department;"  in 
1913  the  legislature  amended  the  scholarship  provisions  of  1892  and  1904,  confirmed 
the  annual  appropriation  of  $11,000,  and  increased  the  aggregate  appropriation  by 
$9,000  annually  for  the  term  of  two  years,  making  a  total  of  $20,000  per  annum,  all 
of  which,  except  $2,400  for  scholarships,  was  given  "to  be  expended  in  carrying  out 
the  provisions  of  the  charter  of  said  institution."  This  increase  in  appropriations, 
it  is  apparent,  is  one  manifestation  of  the  tendency  which  has  developed  in  recent 
years  respecting  all  the  institutions  of  higher  learning  within  the  state;  and  it  is  to 
be  particularly  noticed  that  by  such  appropriations  the  state  has  not  undertaken 
specifically  to  aid  the  development  of  military  instruction  at  the  institution,  and 
that  the  increase  made  has  been  in  duplication  of  educational  effort,  a  matter 
specifically  submitted  to  this  Commission  for  investigation  and  obviation.  It  is 
true  that  Norwich  University  has  been  called  by  the  legislature  the  Military  College 
of  the  State  of  Vermont  but,  as  pointed  out  in  our  discussion  of  the  claim  of  the 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  that  the  legislative  declara- 
tion that  it  was  a  state  institution  made  it  such,  the  legislative  recognition  of 
Norwich  University  as  the  military  college  of  the  state  did  not  make  it  a  state 
institution,  that  is,  a  public  corporation,  nor  in  any  wise  affect  the  duty  or  the 
obligation  of  the  state  respecting  it. 

The  Commission  might  well  repeat  what  is  said  in  the  report  of  the  Carnegie 
Foundation  respecting  the  inadequate  facilities  of  Norwich  University  for  education 
in  engineering  and  the  small  and  decreasing  per  cent  of  Vermont  students  attending 
it— a  decrease  from  77%  in  1902-3  to  42%  in  1912-13.  These  matters,  however, 
are  fully  treated  in  that  report  and,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Commission,  furnish 
such  evidence  as  would  create  a  grave  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the  Commission  respect- 
ing state  aid  to  the  institution  even  though  the  work  performed  by  it  were  of  a 
character  justifying  state  support  by  the  rule  above  referred  to. 

Sentiment  and  personal  inclination  may  advocate  continued  financial  support  by 
the  state  of  an  institution  whose  record  in  its  particular  field  of  work  has  been  as 


NORWICH  UNIVERSITY  127 

creditable  as  that  of  Norwich  University.  A  proper  regard,  however,  for  the  entire 
educational  system  and  conditions  of  the  state — and  that  is  the  scope  of  the  matters 
submitted  to  the  determination  of  this  Commission — compels  the  conclusion  that 
the  educational  conditions  of  Vermont,  respecting  the  elementary  and  the  secondary 
schools,  require  a  recommendation  from  this  Commission  withdraw  ing  state  appro- 
priations from  Norwich  University.  On  any  fair  and  just  view  of  the  rights,  duties 
and  obligations  of  that  institution  and  of  the  duty  and  obligation  of  the  state  to  it, 
the  Commission  is  unable  to  escape  the  following  conclusion  reached  by  the  Carnegie 
Foundation:  "That  the  State  of  Vermont  should  tax  itself  to  support  a  school 
whose  facilities  for  engineering  are  so  meager,  whose  chief  function  is  military 
instruction,  the  majority  of  whose  students  are  drawn  from  outside  the  state,  is  a 
use  of  money  that  can  not  be  defended  upon  any  educational  grounds,  or  upon  the 
grounds  of  the  state's  duty  to  the  system  of  elementary  and  secondary  schools." 


XII 
DUPLICATION 

By  the  joint  resolution  creating  it,  this  Commission  is  required  to  make  such 
recommendations  respecting  the  state's  institutions  of  higher  learning  "as  will 
prevent  unnecessary  duplication  and  consequent  financial  waste."  In  a  narrow 
sense  the  performance  of  this  duty  may  be  said  to  relate  only  to  duplication  of  work 
supported  by  state  subsidies.  In  a  larger  and  truer  sense,  however,  the  duplication 
referred  to  may  relate  to  the  entire  activities  of  these  institutions,  although  in  some 
circumstances  there  may  be  duplication  that  is  both  necessary  and  justifiable. 

Time  was — and  not  long  ago — when  competition  was  regarded  as  the  most  im- 
portant thing  in  any  development.  More  recently,  however,  this  notion  has  come 
to  be  thought  only  partly  true.  Efficiency  of  effort,  whether  prosecuted  under 
competitive  conditions  or  otherwise,  is  the  end  to  be  attained;  and  while  competi- 
tion may  make  for  efficiency  in  business  and  mercantile  activities,  where  success  is 
measured  in  dollars  and  cents,  in  educational  effort  it  breeds  an  unwholesome 
rivalry  destructive  of  efficiency,  which  is  there  measured  by  the  degree  of  attain- 
ment to  an  ideal. 

As  already  pointed  out,  the  state  is  justified  in  aiding  institutions  of  higher 
learning  only  for  value  received  in  the  performance  for  the  state  of  some  distinctive 
service.  Institutional  rivalry,  however,  may  so  far  inevitably  affect  the  character 
of  that  service  that  the  state  should  not  assist  any  institution  competing  therein. 
In  return  for  aid  by  the  state,  the  institution  aided  does  not  meet  its  obligation  in 
the  performance  merely  of  the  distinctive  service  by  which  the  assistance  given  is 
justified.  Plain  principles  of  justice  and  fair  dealing  impose  upon  that  institution 
the  duty  to  refrain  from  activities  naturally  tending  to  make  ineffective  the  state- 
aided  work  of  other  institutions. 

The  history  of  recent  state  appropriations  to  higher  learning  shows  that  out  of 
institutional  rivalry  has  grown  duplication  of  effort.  By  No.  50,  Acts  of  1908, 
$16,000  was  annually  appropriated  to  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agri- 
cultural College,  $3,600  of  which  should  be  expended  "in  providing  instruction  in 
branches  relating  to  the  industrial  arts."  By  the  same  Act,  $8,400  was  annually 
appropriated  to  Middlebury  College,  $6,000  of  which  should  be  expended  "for  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  department  of  pedagogy  for  the  education  and 
training  of  high  school  teachers."  In  1910,  however,  by  No.  75,  Acts  of  1910,  the 
University  of  Vermont  obtained  an  annual  appropriation  of  $16,000,  of  which 
$13,600  should  be  expended,  among  other  things  including  branches  relating  to  the 
industrial  sciences,  "in  providing  instruction  in  the  principles  and  methods  of 
teaching;"  and  Middlebury  College  obtained  an  annual  appropriation  of  $16,000, 
of  which  $13,600  should  be  expended,  in  addition  to  the  purpose  of  establishing  and 
maintaining  a  department  of  pedagogy  as  provided  in  the  Act  of  1908,  for  the 
further  purpose  of  providing  "instruction  in  forestry  and  other  subjects  related  to 


DUPLICATION  129 

the  industries  of  Vermont" — a  provision  broad  enough  to  include  every  department 
of  agricultural  education.  By  the  legislation  of  1908,  the  state  was  definitely 
assisting  the  University  of  Vermont  in  providing  instruction  in  branches  relating  to 
the  industrial  arts,  yet  in  1910  Middlebury  College  received  an  appropriation  for 
instruction  in  forestry  and  other  subjects  related  to  the  state's  industries.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  1908,  the  state  definitely  assisted  Middlebury  College  to  establish 
and  maintain  a  department  of  pedagogy  for  a  distinctive  service  to  the  state,  namely, 
the  education  and  training  of  high  school  teachers,  yet  in  1910  the  University  of 
Vermont  obtained  an  appropriation  to  be  expended  in  providing  instruction  in  the 
principles  and  methods  of  teaching. 

The  legislature  of  1912,  by  an  Act  passed  February  15,  1913  (No.  83,  Acts  of 
1912),  in  appropriating  money  to  the  state's  institutions  of  higher  learning,  to  some 
extent  avoided  duplication,  no  doubt  because  the  matter  of  "unnecessary  duplica- 
tion" was  specifically  mentioned  in  the  joint  resolution  creating  this  Commission, 
previously  enacted.  The  sum  of  $26,300  was  appropriated  to  the  University  of 
Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College.  Of  this  appropriation,  $13,500  was  "for 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  College  of  Medicine,"  $4,800  was  "for  the  exclusive  use  of 
the  College  of  Agriculture"  in  the  payment  of  tuition  charges  of  Vermont  students, 
and  $8,000  was  "for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  College  of  Agriculture"  to  be  expended 
solely  for  work  in  agricultural  extension.  The  sum  of  $12,800  was  appropriated 
to  Middlebury  College,  of  which  $2,400  was  allotted  to  the  payment  of  tuition 
charges,  and  $10,400  in  "providing  instruction  in  subjects  essential  for  students 
preparing  to  teach  in  Vermont  high  schools  and  academies."  The  sum  of  $20,000 
was  appropriated  to  Norwich  University  to  be  used  "in  carrying  out  the  provisions 
of  the  charter  of  said  institution  through  the  payment  of  salaries  of  its  instructional 
force  and  suitably  providing  for  additions  to  and  for  the  maintenance  of  laboratories 
and  equipment  for  its  work  in  engineering,  in  the  natural  sciences  and  in  physical 
culture."  Yet  in  these  appropriations,  it  appears  that  the  state  is  giving  Norwich 
University  extensive  assistance  in  its  engineering  work  and  at  the  same  time  is 
sustaining  the  work  in  engineering  at  the  University  of  Vermont  through  the  Federal 
appropriations  allotted  to  that  institution  by  state  legislation. 

Every  institution  of  learning  in  the  liberal  arts  necessarily  ofl^ers  courses  more  or 
less  alike,  for  example,  courses  in  the  languages,  mathematics,  and  the  natural, 
physical  and  economic  sciences.  To  style  this  as  unnecessary  duplication  would 
amount  to  saying  that  all  but  one  of  such  institutions  have  no  reason  for  existence—^ 
a  matter  to  be  determined  only  by  time  and  their  own  internal  development.  The 
Commission  construes  "unnecessary  duplication"  to  mean  competitive  effort  in 
technical  education  in  the  arts,  sciences  or  professions;  and  technical  education  is 
none  the  less  such  although  offered  as  "the  stimulus  to  liberal  thought  and  service- 
able effort  that  is  so  necessary  to  true  culture  and  to  useful  living." 

The  "Middlebury  College  Bulletin"  for  July,  1914,  is  devoted  to  an  exposition 
of  its  Department  of  Engineering.     It  announces  that  two  classes,  at  least,  of  its 


130  DUPLICATION 

students  demand  certain  courses  in  engineering :  those  who  intend  to  pursue  a  tech- 
nical education  beyond  college  and  those  who  need  such  courses  for  cultural  pur- 
poses. The  engineering  courses  offered  to  meet  this  alleged  demand  are,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Commission,  a  clear  illustration  of  unnecessary  duplication.  Through 
state  legislation  the  Federal  appropriations  to  land-grant  colleges  have,  in  Vermont, 
for  many  years  been  allotted  to  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College,  whereby  there  has  been  developed  at  Burlington  a  school  of  civil,  mechani- 
cal and  electrical  engineering  which  "in  the  character  of  the  instruction  and  the 
opportunity  for  laboratory  work  *  *  *  compares  well  with  similar  schools  of 
engineering  in  other  institutions."  The  Bulletin  says  respecting  the  engineering 
department  at  Middlebury  College : 

"Such  a  department  does  not  purport  to  be,  and  it  should  not  be  misunderstood 
to  attempt  the  work  of,  a  technical  institution  or  an  advanced  school  of  engineering, 
nor  does  it  assume  the  character  of  a  college  of  engineering  in  a  university."  And 
yet  the  value  of  its  courses  in  a  purely  technical  education  is  advocated  by  the 
announcement  that  their  graduates  "may  enter  the  Junior  year  of  the  best  technical 
schools  without  examination,"  an  arrangement  already  concluded  by  Middlebury 
College  with  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  Worcester  Polytechnic 
Institute  and  Cornell  University.  In  other  words  this  department,  which  does  not 
purport  to  be,  and  should  not  be  misunderstood  to  attempt  the  work  of,  a  technical 
institution,  furnishes  its  students  an  education  equivalent  to  that  given  in  the  first 
two  years  of  the  foremost  technical  schools  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  train- 
ing offered  is  clearly  that  of  a  technical  institution  and  just  as  clearly  a  duplication 
of  the  training  given  at  Burlington.  It  is  suggested,  however,  that  duplication  can 
not  be  predicated  upon  the  state's  use  of  the  Federal  appropriations,  on  the  ground 
that  such  appropriations  are  not  the  property  of  the  state  but  of  the  institution 
receiving  them,  and  that  the  state  is  a  channel  merely  through  which  the  Federal 
aid  flows.  Such  a  position  is  untenable.  Although  the  state  holds  these  funds  in 
trust  for  the  purposes  named  in  the  Acts  of  Congress,  it  nevertheless  owns  them. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  State  of  Wyoming,  ex  rel.  Wyoming 
Agricultural  College  et  al.  v.  Irvine,  Treasurer  of  the  State  of  Wyoming,  206  U.  S. 
278,  51  L.  ed.  1063,  says  it  is  obvious  that  these  appropriations  are  made  to  the 
state,  and  not  to  any  institutions  within  the  state,  and  that  both  the  fund  and  its 
interest  and  the  annual  appropriations  are  the  property  of  the  state,  and  not  of  any 
institution  within  it. 

As  long  as  Middlebury  College,  by  such  duplication,  engages  in  a  competition 
with  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College  in  technical  educa- 
tion in  the  mechanic  arts,  the  Commission  believes  that  such  competition  may 
engender  a  spirit  of  institutional  rivalry  that  will  make  inadvisable  the  education 
there,  at  public  expense,  of  the  state's  secondary-school  teachers,  for  the  School  of 
Pedagogy  in  Middlebury  College  (discussed  elsewhere  in  this  report),  even  though 
safeguarded  by  a  close  state  administration  and  control,  may  become  so  far  imbued 


DUPLICATION  131 

with  such  a  spirit  as  to  place  its  graduates,  through  their  prestige  and  influence,  in 
command  of  the  secondary  schools  of  the  state.  Nor  should  Middlebury  College 
continue  its  courses  in  those  branches  of  instruction  peculiarly  appropriate  to  educa- 
tion in  agriculture,  specially  the  province  of  the  State  Agricultural  School  at 
Randolph  and  of  the  State  Agricultural  College  in  the  use  of  the  Federal  appropria- 
tions. The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  has  made  the  following  classification 
of  subjects  to  be  included  in  instruction  in  agriculture:  (1)  Agriculture;  (2)  Horti- 
culture; (3)  Forestry;  (4)  Agronomy;  (5)  Animal  husbandry;  (6)  Dairying;  (7) 
Veterinary  science;  (8)  Poultry  industry ;  (9)  Apiculture. 

If  the  state  is  to  support  courses  of  instruction  for  training  teachers  of  agriculture 
in  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  as  elsewhere  recom- 
mended, that  institution  by  parity  of  reasoning  should  not  unjustifiably  continue  its 
courses  in  pedagogy  in  competition  with  Middlebury  College. 

Inasmuch  as  many  forms  of  duplication  are  wholly  justifiable  and  necessary,  and 
inasmuch  as  forms  of  duplication  that  are  injurious  and,  therefore,  undesirable  can 
sometimes  be  fairly  determined  only  as  the  concrete  occasion  arises,  it  is  only  just 
to  the  state  that  no  institution  receiving  aid  from  the  state  by  way  of  funds  owned 
by  it,  either  absolutely  or  in  trust,  shall  undertake  work  in  aid  of  which  such  funds 
are  elsewhere  being  provided,  without  the  knowledge  and  the  full  concurrence  of  the 
board  of  education. 

These  institutions  should  not  be  rivals,  but  co-workers,  each  doing  its  own  general 
work  in  cultural  education  and  non-competing  work  in  technical  education. 


XIII 
THE  STATE  AND  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

It  is  made  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  inquire  into  and  determine  the  several 
rights,  duties,  and  obUgations  of  the  three  colleges  in  the  state,  and  to  report  thereon 
with  such  recommendations  as  will  prevent  unnecessary  duplication  and  consequent 
financial  waste.  Further  than  is  necessary  to  the  proper  performance  of  this  duty, 
the  Commission  does  not  consider  it  within  its  province  to  discuss  the  question  of 
higher  education  nor  the  question  of  colleges  of  art,  large  or  small.  It  wishes  to  con- 
fine its  function  to  the  public  educational  system  and  conditions  of  the  state,  and 
to  the  reorganization  of  the  public  elementary  and  secondary  schools  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  result  in  the  establishment  of  an  efficient  and  comprehensive  system  of 
elementary  and  secondary  education  for  the  state,  and  the  means  of  providing 
efficient,  competent,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  teachers  for  these  schools.  Its 
recommendations  are  intended  to  cover  this,  and  also  to  cover,  directly  or  indirectly, 
the  use  of  money  owned  by  the  state  either  absolutely  or  in  trust,  so  far  as  it  is 
applied  by,  appropriated  to  or  to  the  use  of,  existing  colleges,  private  in  character. 
As  to  the  other  work  of  the  colleges,  the  Commission  recommends  restrictions  only 
so  far  as  may  be  reasonably  necessary  to  prevent  unjust  interference  with  the  use  of 
such  state  moneys. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  seen  that  the  Commission  bases  its  recommen- 
dations for  state  aid  to  institutions  of  higher  learning  upon  the  fact  that  some  special 
benefit  is  to  be  derived  by  the  state  in  connection  with  the  efficient  operation  and 
administration  of  its  public  schools,  in  so  doing.  The  state  has  made  the  mainte- 
nance of  public  schools  a  provision  in  its  Constitution,  From  the  foundation  of  the 
state,  it  has  been  a  steady  and  governing  principle  that  it  was  the  right  and  duty 
of  government  to  provide,  at  public  expense,  for  the  instruction  of  all  the  youth  in 
common  schools.  No  such  duty  is  imposed  upon  the  state  respecting  higher  edu- 
cation, nor  respecting  instructions  in  institutions  of  higher  learning,  not  a  part 
of  the  public  school  system.  Though  appropriations  may  be  and  are  often  made 
by  the  legislature  in  aid  of  such  institutions,  yet  such  an  appropriation  is  a  gift  of 
the  sum  appropriated.  It  is  a  common  saying  based  upon  much  good  sense,  that 
"a  man  should  be  just  before  he  is  generous."  This  applies  as  well  to  the  state 
regarding  such  appropriations.  It  should  require  no  argument  to  convince  any 
person  of  fair  mind  that  the  first  and  all  important  duty  of  the  state  is  to  perform 
its  full  obligation  to  the  common  schools  before  giving  money  to  any  institution 
of  higher  learning — justice  to  the  youth  of  the  state,  as  well  as  the  public  welfare, 
demand  it.  This  same  principle  was  stated  and  endorsed  with  emphasis  by  the 
president  of  Middlebury  College  and  also  by  one  of  the  prominent  fellows  of  that 
institution  at  a  hearing  before  this  Commission.     Thus  President  Thomas  said: 

'T  accept  further  the  principle  that  the  primary  and  supreme  duty  of  the  State  in 
educational  matters  is  to  its  elementary  and  secondary  schools.    The  education  of  the 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  133 

mass  of  the  people  must  always  be  the  first  concern  of  the  people.  Money  that  is 
needed  for  efiicient  administration  of  a  State  educational  system  and  for  proper 
stimulation  of  local  support  of  both  elementary  and  secondary  schools  should  not 
be  diverted  to  higher  education.  The  college  must  not  be  a  competitor  for  resources 
that  are  needed  by  the  little  children  of  Vermont.  The  proposition  to  expend 
upon  higher  education  what  is  justly  required  for  the  lower  schools  is  not  only 
unjustifiable  morally  and  from  the  standpoint  of  public  policy,  but  it  is  against 
the  interest  of  the  college  itself,  since  the  college  can  flourish  only  on  the  foundation 
of  efficient  general  education  and  broad  public  prosperity." 

Honorable  Frank  C.  Partridge,  Fellow  of  Middlebury  College,  when  delivering 
an  address  before  the  Commission  on  the  same  occasion,  being  asked  by  the  chair- 
man of  the  Commission  whether  he  stood  with  President  Thomas  as  to  the  state's 
first  duty  being  to  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools,  answered: 

"I  have  had  no  question  about  that.  1  will  go  further,  I  think  the  duty  first 
is  the  primary  schools.  I  think  if  you  want  to  analyze  it  thoroughly,  you  must 
determine  first  if  you  have  any  money  left  after  that  for  the  secondary  schools, 
and  after  that  I  think  you  must  determine  whether  there  is  any  money  left  for  any- 
thing else.  The  lower  down  you  are  in  the  educational  field,  the  more  you  must 
look  after  it.     You  won't  have  any  secondary  schools  without  primary  schools." 

It  is  said,  however,  in  behalf  of  all  three  of  the  institutions  of  higher  learning, 
that  in  other  states  of  the  Union  private  institutions  of  higher  learning  receive  aid 
from  the  state  and  hence  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the  colleges  in  Vermont  should 
not  receive  aid  from  the  state;  indeed  that  the  state  should  continue  to  treat  the 
colleges  within  her  borders  the  same  as  similar  institutions  are  treated  in  other 
states.  By  reason  of  this  argument  the  Commission  has  taken  pains  to  ascertain 
what  is  being  done  in  this  respect  in  each  of  the  New  England  states,  also  in  New 
York,  and  we  present  in  connection  herewith  the  following  tabulated  statement 
showing  the  total  assessed  valuation  and  the  appropriations  for  higher  education 
with  the  percentage  computed  in  each  of  the  states  named: 

State  Total  Assessed  Appropriations  for  Percentage 

Valuation  Higher  Education 

Vt.  $      222,989,343     $      52,300.00  Univ.  Vt.  .00044 

(1913)  28,800.00  Mid'y  Coll. 

20,000.00  Norw.  Univ. 


$100,100.00       (1913-14) 

Conn.  948,339,019     $    145,787.05  St.  Agric.  Coll.  .000153 

(1911)  (1912-13) 

Me.  430,025,462     $    115,000.00  Univ.  Me. 

(1912-13)  (1912)  .000267 


134  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

Mass.         5,479,279,693  $    146,800.00  Agric.  Coll.  .0000542 

(1912)  (for  100,000.00  Mass.  Inst.  Tech. 

lOyrs.  only)  50,000.00  Wore.  Polyt.  Inst. 

$    296,800.00       (1912-13) 

N.  H.  398,714,464  $      20,000.00  Dart.  Coll.  .000101 

(1912-13)  20,544.88  Agri.  Coll. 


$      40,544.88      (1912-13) 

R.  I.  618,834,569     $      29,889.63  Agri.  Coll.  .0000483 

(1912)  (1911-12) 

N.  Y.        11,131,778,919     $    943,428.80  Corn.  Univ.  (Agric.)  .0000128 

(1913)  70,000.00  Corn.  Univ.  (Vet.) 

71,000.00  Alfred  Univ.  (Agric.  &  Ceramics) 
42,572.15  St.  Law.  Univ.  (Agric.) 
300,000.00  Syr.  Univ.  (Forestry) 


$1,427,000.95       (1912-13)* 

The  percentages  are  only  approximate  since  it  is,  in  general,  almost  impossible 
to  obtain  figures  for  valuations  and  appropriations  in  the  same  year. 

The  above  tabulated  statement  of  appropriations  is  believed  to  include  all 
sums  appropriated  to  colleges  in  the  states  named,  whether  the  institutions  are 
in  character  public  or  private,  and  whether  under  state  control  or  otherwise.  In  so 
far,  however,  as  these  institutions  are  public  in  character  and  entitled  of  right  to 
state  support,  or  are  under  state  control,  the  per  cent  of  Vermont's  appropriations, 
as  compared  with  appropriations  to  the  private  institutions  of  the  other  states, 
is  materially  increased.  That  a  better  understanding  of  the  relative  per  cent 
appropriated  by  these  states  may  be  had,  the  Commission  has  caused  the  following 
chart  to  be  made,  showing  the  size  of  per  cent  appropriated  by  Vermont  as  com- 
pared with  the  per  cent  appropriated  by  each  one  of  the  other  states  named.  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say  in  this  connection  that  the  appropriation  made  by  a 
state,  when  compared  with  appropriations  made  by  other  states,  is  to  be  adjudged 
upon  the  basis  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  states  in  which  the  compared  appro- 
priations were  made.  No  other  comparison  would  be  fair.  What  would  be  a  large 
appropriation  for  a  state  of  small  assessed  valuation  might  be  a  mere  pittance  for 
a  state  of  large  assessed  valuation,  or,  to  state  it  in  another  way,  a  small  appro- 
priation in  per  cent  of  a  state  of  large  valuation,  might  amount  to  a  sum  so  large 
as  to  be  beyond  anything  that  could  possibly  be  expected  from  a  state  of  small 
valuation.  Referring  to  the  chart  and  to  the  per  cent  given  by  each  state,  marked 
thereon,  it  will  be  seen  that  Vermont  is  appropriating  nearly  1.7  times  the  per 

•From  January  1914  from  $75,000  to  $300,000  is  appropriated  annually  for  scholarships. 


.00044 


.000267 


.000153 


.000101 


.0000542 


.0000483      ■ 


N.  Y.         N.J.       Mass.       N.  H.       Conn.      M 


aine         Vt. 


136  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

cent  appropriated  by  Maine,  nearly  three  times  the  per  cent  appropriated  by 
Connecticut,  more  than  four  times  the  per  cent  appropriated  by  New  Hampshire, 
more  than  eight  times  the  per  cent  appropriated  by  Massachusetts,  more  than 
nine  times  the  per  cent  appropriated  by  Rhode  Island,  and  more  than  thirty-four 
times  the  per  cent  appropriated  by  New  York  in  1912-13.  If  we  add  to  $1,427,- 
000.95,  the  sum  appropriated  in  those  years,  $300,000,  the  greatest  sum  appropria- 
ted annually  for  scholarships  from  January,  1914,  it  makes  total  appropriations 
from  January,  1914,  $1,727,000.95.  Computing  the  per  cent  this  sum  is  of  the 
assessed  valuation  given  for  1913  (and  saying  nothing  about  any  increase  in  assessed 
valuation  for  the  year  1914),  it  gives  .0000155,  and  the  per  cent  appropriated  by 
Vermont  is  still  more  than  twenty-eight  times  the  per  cent  now  being  appropriated 
by  New  York. 

With  this  information  in  hand  together  with  the  knowledge  we  have  concern- 
ing the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  can  there  be  any  reasonable  doubt  that 
the  institutions  of  higher  learning  in  this  state  have  been  and  are  receiving  more 
by  way  of  appropriations  from  the  state  than  in  justice  to  the  elementary  and  the 
secondary  schools  they  ought  to  ask  or  receive?  Without  discussing  the  question 
as  to  whether  appropriations  to  such  institutions  without  state  control  can  or  can 
not  be  reasonabl}^  justified,  they  can  not  be  reasonably  justified  to  an  extent  which 
is  to  the  injury  of  those  schools  established  and  maintained  for  the  benefit  of  all  of 
the  people  of  the  state.  The  Commission  can  not  urge  too  strongly  the  importance 
to  the  public-school  children  of  the  state,  and  consequently  the  importance  to  the 
general  welfare  of  the  state,  that  no  appropriations,  by  way  of  scholarships  or 
otherwise,  be  made  by  the  state  to  the  colleges  until  the  elementary  and  the  secon- 
dary schools  are  established  and  in  efiicient  operation  throughout  the  state,  in 
conformity  to  the  recommendations  contained  in  this  report.  When  these  public 
schools  are  so  established  and  in  efiicient  operation,  if  it  be  then  a  state  policy  that 
state  appropriations  to  private  institutions  of  higher  learning  are,  without  state 
control,  reasonably  justified — a  matter  not  now  requiring  consideration — ,  we 
may  fairly  assume  that  serious  objection  will  not  be  made  to  such  appropriations 
to  a  percentage  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  property  in  the  state,  in  keeping  with 
the  amount  of  the  appropriations  made  to  similar  institutions  in  other  states  with 
which  comparisons  may  fairly  be  made.  It  should  be  added,  however,  that  even 
then  there  should  be  no  appropriations  in  the  form  of  scholarships  as  now  assigned. 
The  Commission  believes  that  such  scholarships  are  so  objectionable  in  their 
tendencies  as  to  leave  nothing  substantial  in  their  favor.  There  may  be  some 
question  as  to  the  advisability  of  ever  making  appropriations  by  way  of  scholar- 
ships, but  if  so  made  the  assignment  of  scholarships  should  be  under  the  control 
of  the  board  of  education  and  based  upon  merit  and  pecuniary  need.  Very  likely 
in  any  event  justice  to  the  colleges  may  require  that  all  state  aid  be  not  cut  off  at 
once,  but  rather  that  reasonable  opportunity  be  allowed  them  in  which  to  arrange 
their  budgets. 


XIV 
FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  SCHOOLS 

I.  History  of  State  School  Funds 

By  a  law  passed  November  17,  1825,  "the  amount  of  the  avails  accrued  to  this 
state  by  the  late  Vermont  State  Bank,  the  amount  of  this  state's  funds  accruing 
from  the  six  per  cent  on  the  net  profits  of  the  respective  banks  chartered  by  this 
state"  and  the  amount  received  "from  licences  to  peddlars"  were  "sequestered  and 
granted  to  the  respective  towns  in  the  State,  for  the  benefit  of  the  common  schools 
and  to  no  other  purpose."  It  was  further  enacted  that  "the  accumulating  school 
fund  contemplated  shall  not  be  diminished,  improved  or  appropriated  to  the  use 
of  schools,  until  the  amount  of  principal  of  said  fund  shall  increase  to  a  sum  suffi- 
cient to  yield  an  annual  profit  and  interest  adequate  to  defray  the  current  expenses 
of  keeping  a  good,  free,  common  school  in  each  district  in  the  respective  towns, 
for  the  period  of  two  months  in  each  and  every  year." 

These  funds  were  at  first  invested  in  productive  securities,  but,  in  1833,  further 
loaning  was  prohibited  by  the  General  Assembly.  Interest  was  allowed  on  the 
fund  and  it  was  "considered  as  borrowed  from  the  fund"  so  that  on  September 
10,  1845,  the  principal  and  interest  amounted  to  $234,900.44.  On  November  5, 
of  the  same  year,  it  was  coAcred  into  the  state  treasury.  In  1832,  provision  was 
made  for  a  new  capitol  building  and  work  on  the  same  was  commenced  and  com- 
pleted in  1838.  For  the  construction  of  this  building,  the  state  borrowed  from 
the  state  school  fund  $224,000.  In  1841  the  General  Assembly  passed  a  resolution 
to  the  effect  that  no  part  of  the  school  fund  should  be  loaned  so  long  as  "the  State 
may  be  owing  individuals  or  corporations,"  The  state  paid  for  its  new  capitol 
building  by  repudiating  its  debt  to  the  school  fund. 

From  1845  until  1890  the  state  had  no  school  fund  apart  from  the  United  States 
deposit  money  and  the  Huntington  fund. 

At  the  session  of  1890  the  legislature  enacted  a  law  providing  for  the  first  state 
school  tax  of  five  cents  on  the  dollar  which  was  collected  upon  the  list  of  the  polls 
and  ratable  estate  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  state  for  the  support  of  common  schools 
and  re-apportioned  by  the  state  treasurer  among  the  towns,  cities  and  unorganized 
towns  and  gores  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  legal  schools  sustained.  This  tax 
was  afterward  increased  to  eight  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  from  time  to  time  the 
method  of  the  re-apportionment  has  been  changed. 

In  1906  the  permanent  school  fund  was  created  consisting  of  the  sum  of  $240,000 
returned  by  the  national  government  to  the  state  in  settlement  of  all  Civil  War 
claims,  the  Huntington  fund,  the  United  States  deposit  money  and  such  other 
additions  as  were  thereafter  made  to  this  fund ;  and  the  fund  was  to  be  held  intact 
and  in  reserve  as  a  public  school  fund.  A  board  of  trustees  was  created  in  whom 
was  fixed  the  power  of  investment  and  the  further  power  of  receiving  gifts,  be- 
quests or  additions  to  such  permanent  school  fund. 


138  STATE  SCHOOL  FUNDS 

II.  Appropriations  and  Distribution  of  Expense 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  state  school  funds  should  be  appropriated  as 
follows : 

1.  For  the  purposes  of  equalizing  school  opportunities  and  the  assessments 
for  the  maintenance  of  schools. 

2.  For  the  purposes  of  paying  all  overhead,  extraordinary  and  incidental  ex- 
penses incurred  in  the  maintenance  of  the  school  system. 

Neither  the  parent  nor  the  town  should  be  deprived  of  or  relieved  from  partici- 
pating in  the  education  of  the  child.  A  fair  and  equitable  distribution  of  the 
expense  of  the  child's  education  should  be  as  follows: 

(a)  The  parent  should  feed,  clothe  and  care  for  the  child. 

(6)  To  a  large  degree,  the  town  should  furnish  the  school  plant,  provide  for  its 
equipment,  maintenance  and  care,  bear  the  expense  of  the  wage  of  the  teacher  and 
of  the  cost  of  books,  equipment  and  supplies. 

(c)  The  state  should  pay: 

1.  For  supervision,  because  the  superintendents  are  the  agents  of  the  state  in 
carrying  out  its  educational  policy. 

2.  For  the  training  of  the  teacher,  because  the  several  towns  can  not  perform 
this  service  for  themselves  and  because  uniformity  of  training  is  desirable  in  order 
that  there  may  be  uniformity  in  the  quality  of  the  teaching. 

3.  For  medical  inspection,  because  diseases  and  epidemics  do  not  recognize  town  lines. 

4.  For  the  transportation  of  the  child,  because  this  is  an  unusual  and  not  a  com- 
mon expense,  such  as  teaching  and  supplies,  though  frequently  necessary  to  school 
efficiency,  and  because  it  usually  falls  most  heavily  upon  the  town  the  least  able 
to  bear  the  expense  and  is  one  of  the  features  of  school  administration  that  can 
not  be  handled  economically  and  satisfactorily  by  the  town. 

5.  For  a  portion  of  the  net  wage  of  the  teacher,  in  order  to  insure  the  employ- 
ment of  trained  teachers,  and  to  some  degree  equalize  the  expense  thereof.  This 
payment  should  be  considered  with  reference  to  the  net  wage  of  the  teacher  because 
the  gross  wage  involves  the  factor  of  board  which  varies  in  Vermont  from  nothing 
to  $6.00  per  week. 

6.  For  a  large  portion  of  the  cost  of  the  employment  of  teachers  for  instruction 
in  vocational  subjects,  because  it  is  a  matter  of  state  concern  that  its  inhabitants 
be  self-supporting  in  life. 

7.  For  incidental  expenses,  such  as  supplies  and  equipment  which  the  town  can 
not  adequately  furnish  itself. 

8.  For  the  general  means  of  education,  such  as  educational  meetings,  summer 
schools,  reports,  statistics,  courses  of  study,  bulletins,  circulars  and  manuals. 

9.  For  such  portion  of  the  expenses  of  the  school  system  as  will  enable  the  sev- 
eral towns  to  have  schools  that  will,  as  nearly  as  possible,  be  uniform  in  quality, 
duration  and  expense. 


FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  139 

In  considering  these  several  subjects  the  Commission  recommends: 

1.  That  in  Keu  of  the  present  eight  per  cent  tax,  a  state  tax  of  ten  per  cent  be 
levied  upon  the  grand  list  of  the  state  for  school  purposes. 

2.  That  a  direct  appropriation  be  made  from  the  state  treasury  of  at  least 
$450,000. 

3.  That  the  income  of  the  permanent  school  fund  be  used  as  now  for  the  purposes 
of  carrying  out  the  educational  system. 

These  three  funds  brought  together  give  substantially  $750,000.  The  Com- 
mission further  recommends  that  this  sum  be  apportioned  at  present  as  follows : 

1.  For  general  administration  and  office  purposes,  including 

expenses  of  the  board  of  education,  and  the  salaries  and 
expenses  of  the  executive  officers  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, $  20,000 

2.  For  union  supervision,  125,000 

3.  For  vocational  education,  10,000 

4.  For  teacher  training  courses,  40,000 

5.  For  summer  schools  and  educational  meetings,  3,000 

6.  For  the  transportation  of  pupils  of  all  classes,  125,000 

7.  For  the  instruction  of  secondary  school  teachers,  15,000 

8.  For  agricultural  extension  instruction,  15,000 

9.  For  medical  inspection  of  schools,  7,000 

10.  For  advanced  instruction  in  the  several  classes  of  high 

schools,  60,000 

1 1 .  For  payment  of  teachers'  wages,  100,000 

12.  For  equalizing  opportunities  and  rates  of  expenditure,  230,000 

Some  question  may  arise  concerning  the  appropriation  of  so  large  a  sum  as 
$450,000,  and  it  may  very  properly  be  stated  that  a  large  portion  of  this  sum  is 
already  appropriated  by  the  state  from  its  general  revenues  and  was  paid  during  the 
fiscal  year  1913-14,  for  the  following  purposes: 

Superintendent  of  Education  and  Board  of  Education,  $     9,135.71 

Normal  schools,                                                             -  20,000.00 

Union  supervision,  63,350.00 

Manual  training,  950.00 

Teacher  training  courses,  10,750.00 

Summer  schools,  1,000.00 

Educational  meetings,  594.71 

University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  52,300.00 

Norwich  University,  20,000.00 

Middlebury  College,  28,800.00 

Transportation,  year  ending  June  30, 1913,  20,000.00 

General  appropriation,  50,000.00 


Making  a  total  of  $276,880.42 


140  APPROPRIATIONS  AND  EXPENSE 

Thus  the  increase  in  the  appropriation  from  the  general  funds  of  the  state  will  be 
only  $175,000.  In  return  for  this,  the  several  towns,  on  the  payment  of  an  ad- 
ditional tax  of  two  per  cent  of  the  grand  list,  will  receive  the  benefits  which  they 
are  already  receiving,  but  these  benefits  will  be  increased  twofold  along  the  lines  of 
supervision,  trained  teachers,  teachers'  wages,  vocational  education  and  transpor- 
tation, and,  in  addition  to  this,  a  fund  of  $230,000  will  be  in  the  hands  of  the  board 
of  education  to  aid  in  equalizing  school  opportunities  and  in  the  reduction  of  rates 
of  expenditure  in  those  towns  where  this  aid  at  the  present  time  is  sorely  needed. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted  this  17th  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1914. 

John  H.  Watson 
Nicholas  Mukray  Butler 
Theo.  N.  Vail 
Percival  W.  Clement 
Horace  F.  Graham 
Frank  H.  Brooks 
Eli  H.  Porter 
James  B.  Estee 
Allison  E.  Tuttle 

Commissioners. 
George  L.  Hunt 
Clerk. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Academies,  as  secondary  schools,  28 
Aflrainistration : 

Agencies  for,  recommended,  7,  55. 

Commissioner  of  Education.  54. 

History  of,  51. 

State  Board  of  Education,  52-55. 

Supervisors,  49. 
Age: 

Pupils  of  junior  high  schools,  6,  29. 

Pupils  of  senior  high  schools,  6,  29. 

School  advantages,  no  bar  to,  40. 
Agricultural  schools: 

Hearing  at  Burlington  respecting,  4. 

Recommendation  respecting,  41. 
.Agriculture: 

Crops,  comparative  statistics  of,  37. 

Experiment  station,  95,  96. 

Extension  work,  7,  40,  42,  96. 

Federal  appropriations  for,  percent  used,  109. 

Instruction  in,  what  is,  131. 

Model  farms,  40,  41. 

State  Agricultural  School,  function  of,  41,  42. 

Teachers,  7,  40,  118,  119. 

University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College,  function  of,  115-117, 119. 

Use  of  Federal  appropriations,  8,  91. 

Vermont  an  agricultural   state,    17,    37,    39, 
114. 

Vocational  education  in,  necessary,  37-40. 
.American  Medical  Association,  120. 
Appropriations: 

Agricultural  extension,  7,  40,  96. 

Agricultural  teachers,  40,  118. 

Apportionment  of,  for  schools,  139. 

College  of  Medicine,  121. 

Colleges,  7,  30,  119,  125,  127,  128,  132, 

Duplication  in,  128,  129. 

Federal,  Act  of  1862,  conclusion  respecting 
use  of,  95. 

Federal,  Act  of  1890,  conclusion  respecting 
use  of,  115. 

Federal,  Act  of  1907,  conclusion  respecting 
use  of,  115. 

Federal,  for  agricultural  extension,  40,  96. 

Federal,  use  of  by  University  of  Vermont  and 
State  Agricultural  College,  8,  91. 

Federal,  use  of,  comparative  percentages, 
111.  112. 


Institutions  of  higher  learning,  7,  30,  119,  125, 

127,  128,  132. 
Middlebury  College,  123,  124,  128, 129. 
Norwich  University,  126,  129. 
School  funds,  recommendation  respecting,  138. 
State  Agricultural  School,  7, 41. 
State,  control  of,  54. 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 

College,  7, 119, 128, 129.  [l36. 

Vermont's,  compared  with  other  states,  133- 

JjOARD  of  Education: 

.Appropriation  for,  55. 

Appropriations,  control  of,  54. 

Duplication,  duty  respecting,  119,  124,  131. 

Health  regulations,  54. 

Instruction  outside  town,  28. 

Membership,  requisites  of,  52. 

Powers  and  duties,  52-54. 

Re-organization  of  schools,  31. 

Scholarships,  136. 

Staff,  54. 

Teachers  of  agricultui'e,  119. 

Teachers  for  secondary  schools,  7,  124. 

Term  of  office,  55. 
Budget  of  educational  expenses,  54. 

Oarnegie  Foundation  for  the  Advancement 
of  Teaching: 

Expert  assistance  by,  3. 

Men  employed  by,  2,  3. 

Methods  of  work,  3. 

Report  to  Commission,  3. 
Children : 

Attending  elementary  schools,  17. 

Attending  secondary  schools,  18,  22. 

Compulsory  attendance,  27. 

Importance  of,  17.  [30. 

Not  reached  by  secondary  schools,  17,  23,  27, 
Classification  of  schools,  13-16,  21,  24,  25,  54. 
College  of  Medicine : 

Appropriations  to,  121. 

Attendance,  121. 

Clinical  facilities,  121,  122. 

Conclusion  respecting,  122. 

Dean  Tinkham's  statement  respecting,  122. 

Relation  to  University  of  Vermont  and  State 
.\gricultural  College,  119. 


144 


INDEX 


State's  duty  to,  discussed,  119,  122. 
Standing  of.  120-122. 

Supply  of  i>ractitioncrs,  imnecossary  for,  121. 
Colleges : 

Appropriations  compared,  Vermont  and  other 

states,  133-136. 
l''unction  of  Commission  respecting,  4,   122, 

132,  136. 
Relation  of  secondary  schools  to,  23,  30,  35, 

36. 
State's  duty  respecting,  7,  30,  119.  12.5,  127, 
128,  132. 
Commercial  subjects,  6,  7,  28,  42. 
Commissioner  of  Education: 
Assistants  for,  54,  55. 
Qualifications,  54,  55. 
Salary,  54,  55. 
Term  of  office,  54. 
Compulsory  attendance,  27. 
Consolidation  of  rural  schools,  5,  19,  20. 
Constitution : 

Duties  respecting  schools  imposed  by,  5,  9,  11, 

14,  15,  30,  31. 
Rights  under,  how  exercised,  15. 
Schools,  parents'  duty  respecting,  30. 
Schools,  state's  duty  respecting,  5,  9,  30,  50, 

51,132. 
Vocational  education,  relation  to,  35. 
County  grammar  schools,  11,  34,  62,  73,  74. 
Course  of  study: 

Elementary  schools,  18,  19. 
Rural  schools,  5,  19,  20. 
Secondary  schools,  22,  23,  25,  28,  29. 
Crops,  comparative  statistics  of,  37. 
Curriculum: 

Elementary  .schools,  5,  18,  19,  20. 
Junior  high  schools,  6,  28,  29. 
Senior  high  schools,  6,  28,  29. 
State  Agricultural  School,  41. 

Distribution  of  expense,  138 
Districts.     Specially  incorporated,  33. 
Domestic  science,  6,  7,  28,  35,  42. 
Duplication: 

Board  of  Education,  duty  of,  119,  124,  131. 

Effect  of,  128. 

Illustrated,  41,  43,  128,  129. 

Scope  of,  128. 

Unnecessary,  bar  to  state  aid,  131. 

Unnecessary,  what  is,  129. 


H/DucATiONAi.  Commission: 

Colleges,  function  of,  respecting,  4,  122,  132, 
136. 

Conclusions  of,  not  based  wholly  on  Carnegie 
Report,  4. 

Expert  assistance  for,  2. 

Hearings  before,  4. 

Higher    education,    function    of,    respecting, 
4,  116,  117,  122,  132,  136. 

Institutions  visited,  4. 

Joint  Resolution  creating,  1. 

Organization  of,  2. 

Purpose  of  report,  2,  4,  5,  9,  132. 

Work  of,  3,  4,  43. 
Educational  survey: 

Authorized  by  Commission,  2. 

Men  engaged  in,  2. 

Methods,  3. 

Report  to  Commission,  3. 
Elementary  schools: 

Attendance,  17,  18. 

Curricula,  18,  19,  25,  26. 

Instruction  in,  purpose  of,  18,  19. 

Location  of,  14. 

Number  required,  16. 

Place  in  the  system,  9,  132,  133,  136. 

Rural  schools,  5,  19,  20. 

Rural  schools,  consolidation  of,  19,  20. 

School  term,  31. 

Teachers,  certification,  54. 

Teachers,  number,  43. 

Teachers,  salary,  47,  138. 

Teachers,  tenure  of  position,  47. 
Emmigration,  relation  to  schools,  36. 
Environment,  relation  to  schools,  9,  16,  17,  19, 

20,  23,  25,  36,  43. 
Equalization  of  expense,  30,  50,  51,  137,  140. 
Expense  of  schools : 

Equalization  of,  30,  50,  51,  137,  140. 

Parents"  duty  respecting,  30,  138. 

Secondary  consideration,  29,  30. 

State  money,  expenditure  and  control  of,  54. 
Experiment  station,  95,  96,  116. 
Extension  work  in  agricidture,  7,  40,  42,  96. 

b  EDERAL  appropriations: 

Agriculture,  percent  used  for,  109. 
Approval  of  U.  S.  government  respecting  use, 
101,  114.  [ll7. 

Change  in  policy,  respecting  use,  looked  for. 


INDEX 


145 


Extension  work,  !)(>. 

State  Grange,  complaint  by,  112. 

Use  of ,  comparative  percentages,  111,  112. 

Use  of  by  University  of  Vermont  and  State 

Agricultural  College,  91. 
Use  of,  reports  required,  99-101. 
Use  of,  reports  respecting,  102. 
Use  of,  under  Act  of  1862,  conclusion  respect- 
ing, 95. 
Use  of,  under  Acts  of  1890  and  1907,  conclu- 
sion respecting,  115.  [96. 
Federal  extension  work  in  agriculture,  7,  40,  42, 
Financial  support,  30,  .50,  51,  137,  140. 
Foundation :                                                          [70. 
University  of  Vermont,  conclusion  respecting. 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College,  conclusion  respecting,  86. 
Founder's  Day,  at  University  of  Vermont  and 
State  Agricultural  College,  64,  65.             [27. 
"Four-and-Two"  division  of  secondary  schools, 

VJENERAL  Assembly,  communications  by  Gov- 
ernor, 1 
Glebe-rights,  13.  [bly,  1. 

Governor,  communications  to  General   Assem- 
Grammar  school  lands,  11,  62,  73,  74. 
Grammar  schools  lands,  investigation  respecting, 

recommended,  34. 
Grammar  school  lands,  quantity  and  value,  34, 

73,  74. 

riiGHER  education: 

Appropriations  compared,  Vermont  and  other 

states,  133-136. 
Function  of  Commission  respecting,  4,  116, 

117, 122, 132, 136. 
Institutions  of,  all  private,  7. 
Institutions  of,  purpose  of  report  respecting, 

5,  132. 
Institutions  of,  state  aid  to,  7,  119,  125,  127, 

128,  132. 
Scholarships,  136. 

State's  duty  respecting,  7,  30,  119,  125,  127, 
128,  132. 
High  schools:  see  secondary  schools. 
Huntington  fund,  137. 
Hygiene,  49,  54. 

Increase  of  school  term,  6,  31 
Institutes,  55. 


Junior  high  schools: 
Curriculum,  6,  28,  29. 
Equipment,  6,  28,  29. 
Number,  27,  28. 

Recommendations  respecting,  6,  25,  28.  29. 
Teachers  for,  48. 
\'ocational  education  in,  6,  28,  42. 

L<KNGTH  of  school  term,  6,  31 
Lyndonville,  Mr.  Vail's  school  visited  by  Com- 
mission, 4. 

iV-LANt'Ai,  training: 

Generally,  6,  7,  28,  42. 

State  Agricultural  School.  7, 41,  42. 
Manufacturing,     compared     with     agriculture, 

17,  37-40. 
Memorial  of  Elijah  Paine,  58. 
Memorial  of  Ira  Allen,  58,  65. 
Middlebury  College: 

Appropriation  for  proposed,  124. 

Appropriations,  123,  124,  128,  129. 

Brief  by,  4. 

Conmiissions  visit  to,  4. 

Duplication  in,  128-131. 

Hearing  before  Commission,  4,  132,  133. 

Teacher-training,  7,  123,  124. 
Model  farms,  40,  41. 
Morrill  Act  of  1862 :  fuse  of,  8,  95. 

Appropriations  under,   conclusion  respecting 
Morrill  Act  of  1890: 

Appropriations  under,   conclusion  respecting 
use  of,  8,  115. 

Appropriations  under,  reports  of  use  of,  102. 

Appropriations  under,  usS  of,  comparative  per- 
centages, 111,  112. 

Appropriations,  reports  of  use  required,  form 
of,  99, 100,  101. 
Morrill.     Senator  Justin  S.,  his  attitude  respect- 
ing use  of  Federal  appropriations,  112,  113. 

Nelson  Act  of  1907: 

Appropriations  under,  conclusion  respecting 

use  of,  8, 115. 
Appropriations   under,    use    of,    comparative 
percentages.  111,  112. 
Normal  Schools: 
Attendance,  44. 
Commission's  visit  to,  4. 
Duplication  of  teacher-training  courses.  43. 


146 


INDEX 


Kind  required,  if  any,  48. 
Recommendation  respecting,  7,  45. 
Supply  of  teachers,  as  source  of,  44. 
Norwich  University: 

Appropriations  to,  1^6,  129. 
Attendance,  126. 
Brief  bj',  4. 

Character — not  a  state  institution,  12(5. 
Commission's  visit  to,  4. 
Conclusion  respecting,  127. 
Hearing  before  Commission,  4. 
Military  training,  125. 

X  REROGATIVE,   68 

Publicity,  55. 

xvANDoi.PH    Agricultural    School:    see    State 

Agricultural  School 
Records  and  reports,  54. 

Reports  of  use  of  Federal  appropriations,  102. 
Rural  schools: 

Consolidation  of,  5,  19,  20. 

Course  of  study,  5,  19,  20. 

Scholarships,  136 
School  funds: 

Appropriated  how,  138. 

Board  of  Education  to  control,  54. 

History-  of,  13,  137. 
School  lands,  11,  13,  34,  62,  73,  74. 
School  term,  6,  31. 
Schools : 

Classification,  13-16,  54. 

Consolidation,  5,  19,  20. 

Constitutional  recp^iirements  respecting,  5,  9, 
11,  14,15,30,31. 

Defects  in,  reason  for,  5. 

Directors,  location  by,  14. 

Division  of,  5,  24-29. 

Expense  of,  equalized,  30,  50,  51, 137, 140. 

Instruction,  character  of  recommended,  6. 

Location,  14,  15,  16. 

Parents'  duty  respecting,  30,  138. 

Relation  to  colleges,  9, 132, 133, 136. 

State's  duty  respecting,  5,  9,  30,  50,  51,  132. 

Supreme  Court  decisions  respecting,  12. 

Sustained  how,  30,  50,  51,  137,  140. 

Town  system  retained,  9. 

Union  of,  20,  49,  54. 

Vocational  education  in,  6,  35. 


Secondary  schools: 

Academies  as  high  scliools,  28. 
Attendance,  17,  18.  2-2.  23,  28. 
Classification  of,  14,  21,  24.  25. 
Colleges,  relation  to,  23.  30,  35,  36. 
Compulsory  attendance,  27. 
Curriculum,  23,  28,  29,  42. 
Development,  22,  23. 
Division,  change  in  point,  24-27,  29. 
"Four-and-Two"  division,  27. 
Function  of,  5.  22,  23. 
History  of  legislation  respecting,  21. 
Instruction  outside  town,  13,  28. 
Junior  high  schools,  6,  25,  27-29,  42. 
Relation  to  elementary  schools,  5,  18. 
Senior  high  schools,  6,  16,  29,  30. 
"Six-and-Six"  plan,  24-29. 
Teachers  for,  training  of,  7,  119,  123. 
Teachers  for,  agriculture,  7,  119. 
Teacher-training  courses,  46,  47. 
Senior  high  schools: 

Agriculture,  teachers  of,  7,  40,  119. 
Curriculum,  6,  28,  29. 
Equipment,  6,  29. 
Recommendation  respecting,  6,  29. 
Vocational  education,  6,  7,  29,  41,  42. 
"Six-and-Six"  plan,  24-29. 
Specially  incorporated  districts,  6,  33. 
State,  must  be  considered  as  a  whole  education- 
ally, 9,  30. 
State  Agricultural  School: 

Agricultural  training,  function  in,  41,  42. 
Equipment,  7,  41,  42. 
Visited  by  Commission,  4. 
Instruction  in,  41,  42. 
Teachers,  7,  41. 
State  Grange,  comjilaint  re  use  of  Federal  appro- 
priations, 112. 
Summer  schools,  55. 
Supervision : 
History  of,  48. 
State  supervisors,  49. 
System  of,  54. 
Supreme  Court,  decisions  respecting  schools,  12. 

J.  EACHEHS: 

Agriculture,  training  of,  7,  40,  118,  119. 
Certification,  54. 
Importance  of,  43,  47. 
Qualification,  54. 


INDEX 


147 


Salary,  47,  138. 

Secondary  schools,  training  of,  7,  119,  123. 
Tenure  of  position,  47. 
Training  courses,  history  of,  45. 
Training  courses,  increase  recommended,  47. 
Transportation,  19,  20,  13S. 

Uniok  of  schools; 

Benefits  of.  20,  40. 

Recommended  compulsory,  49. 

Re-organization  of  unions,  54. 
Union  superintendents,  49,  54. 
U.  S.  deposit  money,  137. 
University  of  Vermont: 

Buildings  as  barracks.  78. 

Buildings  burned  and  restored.  78. 

Character — public  or  private,  56,  76. 

Character — shown  by  history,  78-80. 

Charter,  58,  75. 

Foimdation,  conclusion  respecting,  70. 

Founder  of,  59,  65,  70. 

Founder's  Day,  64.  65. 

Lands,  grant  of,  64.  66,  72. 

Loan  from  state,  79. 

Private  corporation,  claimed  to  be,  in  1840,  79. 

State's  contribution  to  foundation,  59. 

Trustees,  oath  to,  effect  of,  77. 

United   States,   dealt   with,    independent    of 
state,  79. 

Visitatorial  power  respecting,  75,  76. 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 
College : 

Agricultural  extension,  7,  40,  42.  96.  [119. 

Agricultural  training,  its  function  in,  115-117, 

Appropriation  for,  proposed,  119. 

Appropriations  to,  128,  129. 

Briefs,  4,  65,  66,  73. 

Character,  conclusion  respecting,  91. 

Charter,  82. 

Commission's  visit  to,  4. 

Experiment  station.  95,  96,  116. 

Federal  appropriations,  use  of,  government 
approval,  101,  114. 

Federal     appropriations,    percent    used     for 
agriculture,  109. 

Federal  appropriations,  percentages  compared, 
111,112. 

Federal  appropriations,  reports  respecting  use, 
102.  [use,  117. 

Federal  appropriations,  change  looked  for  in 


Federal  appropriations,  under    Act    of    1862, 

conclusion  respecting  use  of,  95. 
Federal  appropriations,   imder   Acts   of    1890 

and  1907,  conclusion  respecting  use  of,  115. 
Foundation,  conclusion  respecting,  86. 
Founder's  Day,  64,  65. 
Hearings  before   Commission,   4,  56,  77,  78. 

101.117. 
Teachers  of  agriculture,  training  of,  7,  40,  118, 

119. 
Trustees,     election     by    General    Assembly, 

effect  of.  88. 
Visitatorial  power  respecting,  86,  87. 
Vocational  training,  its  place  in,  40. 

Vermont: 

AgricultuB&l  state,  7,  37,  39,  114. 

Agricultural  statistics  respecting,  37-39. 

An  educational  unit,  9,  30. 

Appropriations  to  higher  education  compared 
with  other  states,  133-136. 

Manufacturing  and  agriculture  compared, 
38-40. 
Vermont  Agricultural  College: 

Character,  conclusion  respecting,  82. 

Charter,  80. 

Relation  to  state,  81. 

Report  of  trustees,  85. 
Visitatorial  power,  75,  76,  86,  87. 
Vocational  Education: 

Agriculture,  importance  of,  37-40. 

Commercial  subjects,  6,  7,  28,  42. 

Defined,  35. 

Domestic  science,  6,  7,  28,  35,  42. 

Elementary  schools,  42. 

Emmigration.  relation  of,  36. 

Extension  work  in  agriculture,  7,  40,  42,  96. 

Junior  high  schools,  6,  28,  36,  42. 

Manual  training,  6,  7,  28,  41,  42. 

Model  farms,  40,  41. 

Recommendations  respecting,  6,  42. 

Senior  high  schools,  6,  7,  29,  36,  41,  42. 

State  Agricultural  School,  41.  42. 

NAMES 

Allen,  Ira.  58.  63,  65,  70. 

Benedict,  Robert  D.,  63. 

Benton,  President  Guy  Potter,  4.  56,  112. 

Blackstone,  Sir  William,  62. 

Brooks,  Frank  H..  140. 


148 


INDEX 


Butler,  Nicholas  Murray.  140. 

Chipman,  Nathaniel,  11. 

Claxton,  Philander  P.,  19. 

Clement.  Percival  W.,  140. 

ComjTis,  Lord,  77. 

Dillon,  John  F.,  88. 

Elliott,  Professor  Edward  C,  .'}. 

Estee,  James  B..  140. 

Farrington,  Professor  Edward  N.,  .S. 

Fiske,  John,  59. 

Fletcher,  Allen  M.,  Governor.  1. 

Furst,  Doctor  Clyde,  3. 

Goodrich,  Professor  John  Ellsworth,  (W. 

Graham,  Horace  F.,  140. 

Hamilton,  John,  98. 

Hillegas,  Professor  Mile  B.,  3. 

Hunt,  George  L.,  2,  140. 

Kent,  Chancellor,  75. 

Kerr,  W.  J.,  94,  95,  98. 

Learned,  Doctor  William  S..  3. 

Leslie,  William.  3. 

Lowell,  President  A.  Lawrence.  \i'3. 

Marshall,  Chief  Justice,  65.  09,  85. 

Meade,  Professor  G.  B.,  35. 

Morrill,  Justin  S.,  80,  112,  113. 

Mower,  E.  C,  4. 

Olshausen,  Professor  George  R..  3. 

Paine,  Elijah,  58. 

Partridge,  Captain  Alden,  125. 

Partridge,  Frank  C.  4,  133. 

Poland,  Judge  Luke  P.,  12. 

Pomeroy,  John  M.,  114. 

Porter,  Eli  H.,  140. 

Potter,  Doctor  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  3. 

Powers,  Chief  Justice  George  M.,  4. 

Powers,  Judge  H.  Henry,  90. 

Pritchett,  Doctor  Henry  S..  2. 

Reed,  Doctor  Alfred  Z.,  3. 

Roberts,  Robert,  4. 

Ross,  Chief  Judge,  12. 

Rowell,  Chief  Justice,  11,  90. 

Royce,  Chief  Judge,  90. 

Sayre,  Monell,  3. 

Smith,  Treasurer  C.  P.,  4. 

Spooner,  President  Charles  II.,  4. 

Stephen,  Serjeant,  68. 

Story.  Justice,  62,  72,  76. 

Sutherland,  Professor  W.  J.,  17. 

Taft,  Judge  Russell  S.,  90. 

Thomas.  Colonel  Fred  B.,  4. 


Thomas.  President  John  M.,  4,  123.  1.32. 

Thompson,  W.  O.,  93,  95,  98. 

Tinkham,  Dean  Henry  C,  4,  122. 

Tuttle,  Allison  E.,  140. 

Vail,  Theodore  N.,  4,  140. 

Veazey,  Judge  Wheelock  G.,  90. 

Walker,  Judge  William  H.,  90. 

Watson,  John  H.,  140. 

Webster,  Daniel,  76. 

Wheeler,  Rev.  John,  58,  79,  80. 

QUOTATIONS  AND  CITATIONS 

Allen,  Ira,  Memorial  of,  58. 

Allen  V.  McKeen.  1  Sum.  276;   72. 

Bank  of  U.  S.  v.  Planters'  Bank  of  Georgia,  9 

Wheat.  904;    69,85. 
Benedict.  Herbert  D.,  Oration  by,  63. 
Benton,  President  Guy  Potter,  Address  before 

Commission,  56,  112. 
Blackstone's  Commentaries,  62. 
Blair  v.  Chicago,  201  TJ.  S.  400;    66. 
Board  of  Education  v.  Grcenebaum  &  Sons,  39 

111.609;    88. 
Carnegie  Report : 

Appropriation  for  teacher  training,  47. 

College  of  Medicine,  122. 

Course  of  study  in  elementary  schools,  18. 

Curriculum  in  junior  high  schools,  29. 

Curriculum  in  secondary  schools,  28,  29. 

Federal  appropriations,  expenditure  of,  109, 
110. 

Function  of  secondary  schools,  23 

Junior  high  schools,  6. 

Norwich  University,  127. 

School  attendance,  17,  18. 

Schools,  expense  of,  30. 

Secondary-school  teachers,  124. 

Secondary  schools,  attendance,  28. 

Senior  high  schools,  6. 

State  Agricultural  College,  115. 

Teachers,  supply  of,  43. 

Union  superintendents,  49. 

Vocational  education,  36. 
Charter  of  University  of  Vermont,  58. 
Constitution  of  1777,  10,  56. 
Constitution  of  1786,  10,  57. 
Constitution,  Revision  of  1797,  11. 
Dartmouth  College  v.  Woodward,  4  Wheat.  518, 

62,  65,  72. 
Dillion  on  Municipal  Corporations,  88. 


INDEX 


149 


Downing  v.  Indiana  Slate  Board  of  Agriculture 

12L.R.  A.664;  69.73,86. 
Fiske's  "The  Critical  Period  of  American  His- 
tory", 59. 
Franklin  County  (irammar  School  v.  Bailey,  62 

Vt.  467;    66,74. 
Goodrich,  Professor  .lolni  Ellswortli,  Oration  by, 

63. 
Guthrie  v.  liarkness,  1!»!>  I'.  S.  148;   87. 
Hamilton,  John,  Paper  by,  98. 
In  the  Matter  of  the  Endowed  Schools  .\ct. 
In  the  Matter  of  the  St.  Leonard, 

Shoreditch,  Parochical  Schools, 

10  Appeal  Cases  304;   63,  70. 
In  tlie  Matter  of  Tappan's  Appeal,  52  Conn.  412, 

114. 
Inland  Empire  Teachers'  Association: 

.\ddress  before,  "Six-and-Six"  plan,  26. 
Jacob's  Law  Dictionary,  68. 
Kent's  Commentaries,  73,  75. 
Kerr,  W.  J.,  Address  by,  94,  95. 
Late  Coi-porations  of  Latter-Day  Saints  v.  U.  S., 

136  U.S.I;    82. 
Lawrence  v.  Rutland  Railroad  Company,  80  Vt. 

370;    56. 
Leading  Cases  in  Equity,  113. 
Lowell's  Government  of  England,  123,  124. 
Middlebury  College  Bulletin,  129,  130. 
National  Bureau  of  Education : 

Report  of,  "Six-and-Six"  division,  25. 
Newton  v.   Board   of  County   Commissioners, 

100  U.  S.  548;  66. 
Orleans   County   Grammar   School    v.    Parker, 

25  Vt.  696;   73. 
Partridge,  Frank  C,  Address  of,  before  Com- 
mission, 133. 
Pomeroy's  Equity  Jurisprudence,  114. 
Regents  of  University  of  Maryland  v.  Williams, 

9  Gill  &  Johns.  365;  70,71,86. 
Report  of  University  of  Maine,  College  of  Agri- 
culture, 40. 
Scott  V.  St.  Johnsbury  Academy,  86  Vt.  172;  91. 
State  of  Wyoming  v.  Irvine.  206  U.  S.  278;    130. 
Statutes: 

Act  of  October,  1781,  re  school  tax,  61. 

.Act  of  October,  1782,  re  school  districts,  61. 

Act  of  March  3,  1787,  re  Constitution  of  1786, 
62. 

.\ct  of  March,  8,  1787,  re  schools,  62. 

.\ct  of  November  10,  1802,  re  land  grants.  66. 


Act  of  November,  2,  1810,  re  land  grants,  67. 

Act  of  1828,  re  University  of  Vermont.  78. 

Act  of  1841,  re  union  schools,  21. 

Act  of  1844,  re  central  schools,  21. 

Act  of  November  22,  1864,  re   Vermont   Agri- 
cultural College,  80. 

Act  of  November  8,  1865.    re    University    of 
Vermont  and  State  .\gricultural  College,  82. 

Act  of  1867,  re  central  schools,  21. 

No.  49.  Acts  of  1876,  re  training  of  teachers, 
45. 

Act  of  1878,  re  central  schools,  21. 

Act  of  Congress,  1887,  re  experiment  stations, 
95. 

No.  105,  Acts  of  1892.  re  officers  of  state  in- 
stitutions, 89. 

No.  19,  Acts  of  1894.    re    instruction    outside 
the  town,  13. 

No.  9,  Acts  of  1898,  re  teachers,  46. 

No.  69,  Acts  of  1910.  re  age  of  pupils,  17. 

No.  62,  Acts  of  1912,  re  classification  of  high 
schools,  21,  49. 

No.  75,  Acts  of  1912,  re  union  superintendents, 
27. 

No.  83,  Acts  of  1912,  re  duties  of  Commission 
respecting  colleges,  2. 

No.  84,  Acts  of  1912,    re    agricultural    exten- 
sion, 96. 

Act  of  Congress,  May  8,  1914,  re  agricultural 
extension,  96. 

Morrill  Act  of  1862,  91. 

Morrill  Act  of  1890,  96. 

Nelson  Act  of  1907,  97. 

Public  Statutes,  Section  1016.     re     classifica- 
tion of  high  schools,  21. 

Public  Statutes,  Section  1017,   requiring  high 
schools,  21,  29. 

Public  Statutes,  Section  1021, 
of  high  schools,  21 . 

Public  Statutes,  Section  1027,  re  age  of  pupils. 

Public  Statutes,  Section  1029,   re   compulsory 
attendance,  27. 
Revised  Laws,  Section  499,  11. 
Stephen's  Commentaries.  68. 
Sutherland,  Professor  W.  J.,  .\ddress  by.  17. 
Thomas,  President  John  M.,  Address  of,  before 

Commission,  132. 
Thomas  v.  Industrial  University,  71  111.  310;  69. 
Thompson,  W.  O.,  Address  by,  93,  98. 
Thompson's  History  of  Vermont,  59,  60. 


re  classification 
[17. 


150 


INDEX 


Tinkham,  Dean  Henrj'  C,  Address  by,  re  Col- 
lege of  Medicine,  122. 
Town  of  Barre  v.  School  District  No.   13  in 

Barre.67Vt.  108;   12. 
Trustees  of  Caledonia  County  Grammar  School 

V.Burt,  11  Vt.  632;    73,74. 
U.  S,  Bureau  of  Education,   Rulings  re  land- 
grant  colleges,  99-102,  131. 
U.  S.  Census  Bureau,  Statistics,  37. 
U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education : 

Clinical  facilities  in  medical  colleges,  121 . 

Consolidation  of  rural  schools,  20. 

Expenditure  of  appropriations  to  land-grant 
colleges,  110,  111. 

Instruction  in  rural  schools,  19. 

Medical  colleges,  120. 

Normal  schools,  45. 

Teachers  of  agriculture,  118. 

Secondary  schools,  22. 

Secondary-school  teachers,  124. 

"Six-and-Six"  division,  25. 


Vocational  education,  35,  36. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture: 

Bulletin  142,  93,  98. 

Bulletin  164,  93,  98. 

Rulings  of,  99. 
U.  S.  Senate,  Speech  in,  re  vocational    educa- 
tion, 35. 
University  of  Vermont,  Charter  of,  58. 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 

College  V.  Baxter's  Estate,  42  Vt.  99;    56. 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 

College : 

Address  before  Commission  re  Federal  appro- 
priations, 101. 
WTieeler,  Rev.   John,   Historical    discourse  by, 

58. 
Wheeler  v.  Lane,  15  Vt.  26;    79. 
Willard  V.Pike, 55  Vt.  202;  90. 
Williams  v.  School  District  No.  6,  in  Newfane, 

33  Vt.  271;   12. 
Yick  Wo  V.  Hopkins,  118  U.  S.  356;   15. 


ERRATA 

Page  18,  line  20;  insert  "then"  after  "even",  reading  as  follows:  "even  then  too 
large"  etc. 

Page  48,  line  12;  insert  "and"  after  "schools",  reading  as  follows:  "urban  schools 
and  in  the  junior  high  schools." 

Page  65,  line  5;  insert  "in"  after  "and",  reading  "and  in  the  current  number". 

Page  75,  line  16;  "conditions"  should  read  "condition". 

Page  79,  line  8;  "adjusts"  should  read  "adjust". 


A  STUDY  OF 
EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

PREPARED  BY  THE  CARNEGIE  FOUNDATION  FOR 
THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF  TEACHING 

AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  THE 

COMMISSION  TO  INVESTIGATE  THE  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 

AND  CONDITIONS  OF  VERMONT 

W 


MONTPELIER,  VERMONT 

1914 


D.  B.  U1>DIKE,  THE  MEllllYMOUNX  PRESS,  BOSTON 


CONTENTS 

PART  I      METHODS  AND  RESULTS 

PAGE 

I.  The  Reason  for  the  Enquiry  3 

11.  The  Method  of  the  Enquiry  4 

III.  Conclusions  and  Recommendations  7 

PART  II      DESCRIPTION  AND  DISCUSSION 

I.  The  State  of  Vermont  19 

II.  The  Existing  Educational  System  25 

III.  The  Elementary  Schools  86 

IV.  The  Secondary  Schools  63 
V.  The  Training,  Certification,  and  Supply  of  Teachers  111 

VI.  Vocational  Schools  125 

VII.  Records  and  Accounts  134 

VIII.  The  Financial  Support  of  the  Public  School  System  140 

IX.  The  Reorganization  of  the  Agencies  for  Administration  148 

X.  The  Vermont  Colleges  and  Their  Relations  to  the  State  153 

XI.  The  University  of  Vermont  158 

XII.  Middlebury  College  178 

XIII.  Norwich  University  187 

XIV.  The  History  of  Vermont  Subsidies  to  Higher  Education  194 
XV.  The  Outlook  for  Higher  Education  in  Vermont  199 

XVI.  Program  of  Reorganization  210 

PART  III  :  STATISTICS  215 

INDEX  233 


PART  I 
METHODS  AND  RESULTS 

I.  THE  REASON  FOR  THE  ENQUIRY 
II.  THE  METHOD  OF  THE  ENQUIRY 
III.  CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 


I 

THE  REASON  FOR  THE  ENQUIRY 

The  Legislature  of  Vermont,  under  a  joint  resolution  approved  November  19,  1912, 
provided  for  a  commission  to  report  upon  the  educational  responsibilities  of  the  state. 
The  scope  of  the  work  of  this  commission  is  defined  in  the  resolution  as  follows : 

Whereas,  a  doubt  has  arisen  in  the  minds  of  many  of  those  most  intimately 
related  to  the  secondary  and  elementary  schools  of  the  state  as  to  the  efficiency 
of  our  common  school  system,  and 

Whereas,  a  similar  doubt  prevails  among  many  friends  of  higher  education 
regarding  the  adequacy  of  the  return  which  the  state  is  getting  from  its  appro- 
priations in  aid  thereof,  and 

Whereas,  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  has  recommended  in  a  recent  mes- 
sage the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  investigate  and  report  on  these  matters : 

Therefore,  it  is  hereby 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives,  That  a  com- 
mission of  nine  persons,  at  least  two  of  whom  shall  be  experts  in  or  engaged  in 
educational  work,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  enquire  into  the  entire 
educational  system  and  condition  of  this  state.  This  commission  shall  report  at 
the  earliest  possible  date  on  the  several  rights,  duties,  and  obligations  of  the 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  Middlebury  College,  and 
Norwich  University,  with  such  recommendations  as  will  prevent  unnecessary 
duplication  and  consequent  financial  waste. 

Resolved,  That  as  soon  as  practicable  after  reporting  on  the  institutions  of 
higher  learning  hereinbefore  referred  to,  the  said  commission  shall  recommend, 
by  bill  or  otherwise,  such  reorganization  of  our  public  elementary  and  second- 
ary schools,  in  adjustment  to  the  entire  educational  system  of  the  state,  as  will 
promote  the  ends  of  unity,  harmony,  economy,  and  efficiency. 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  said  conmiission  shall  serve  without  pay,  but 
they  shall  be  paid  by  the  state  their  necessary  expenses  on  requisitions  to  be 
approved  by  the  Governor  and  chairman  of  said  commission,  and  the  Auditor  of 
Accounts  shall  draw  orders  therefor.  Said  commission  may  employ  expert  assist- 
ance and  include  the  expense  thereof  in  said  requisitions. 

To  carry  out  the  purposes  of  the  act,  the  following  commission  was  named  by  the 
governor : 

John  H.  Watson,  Chairman,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont,  Montpelier. 
Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  President  of  Columbia  University,  New  York  City. 
Theodore  N.  Vail,  President  of  the  American  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company, 

Lyndonville. 
Percival  W.  Clement,  former  President  of  the  Rutland  Railroad,  Rutland. 
Horace  F.  Graham,  State  Auditor  of  Accounts,  Montpelier. 

Frank  H.  Brooks,  President  of  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  and  Company,  St.  Johnsbury. 
Eli  H.  Porter,  former  member  of  the  State  Railroad  Commission,  Wilmington. 


4  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

jA^rEs  B.  EsTEE,  Mayor  of  Montpelier. 

Allison"  E.  Tuttle,  President  of  the  State  Teachers'  Association,  Bellows  Falls. 

George  L.  Hunt,  lawyer,  of  jMontpelier,  is  clerk  of  the  commission. 

At  meetings  held  January  25  and  February  12, 1913,  the  commission  considered 
methods  for  ascertaining  the  present  educational  conditions  of  the  state  and  for 
preparing  an  exhibit  of  details  available  for  convenient  use.  It  was  resolved  that  the 
conmiission  should,  in  addition  to  the  visitations,  public  hearings,  and  enquiries  con- 
ducted by  its  own  members,  cause  to  be  made  an  expert  study  of  the  school  system, 
including  the  higher  institutions  of  learning. 

By  a  resolution  adopted  February  24,  1913,  the  commission  invited  the  Carnegie 
Foundation  for  the  Advancement  of  Teaching  to  undertake  this  study,  with  such 
assistance  and  cooperation  as  the  President  of  the  Foundation  might  determine  to 
be  necessary. 

The  report  which  follows  is  made  in  response  to  this  invitation. 


II 
THE  METHOD  OF  THE  ENQUIRY 

The  most  characteristic  feature  of  contemporary  economic  and  civic  life  in  America 
is  the  sentiment,  widespread  throughout  the  body  of  citizenship,  that  the  prevailing 
order  no  longer  suffices.  Educational  institutions,  along  with  other  social  agencies, 
are  being  subjected  to-day  to  such  complex  forces  of  unrest.  There  is  a  feeling,  whether 
well  founded  or  not,  that  the  relationship  between  the  common  schools  and  the  needs 
of  the  communities  in  which  they  stand  is  not  of  the  best.  Part  of  the  public,  at  least, 
has  been  taught  to  believe  within  the  last  decade  that  the  public  school  system  is  inert 
and  unresponsive  to  the  changing  and  advancing  life  of  our  democratic  civilization. 
This  sentiment  —  for  it  is  a  sentiment  rather  than  a  conviction  —  has  found  expres- 
sion in  two  widely  different  ways.  On  the  one  hand,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  render 
the  public  schools  responsive  to  what  have  been  assumed  to  be  present  day  needs,  by 
the  addition  of  a  large  number  of  new  subjects  to  the  school  curriculum;  on  the  other 
hand,  there  is  going  on  a  cautious  endeavor  to  submit  our  existing  educational  sys- 
tem to  a  critical,  scientific  examination,  with  the  idea  that  the  conclusions  drawn 
from  this  examination  should  form  the  basis  for  a  wise  and  economic  reorganization 
of  the  school  system.  The  school  enquiry,  or  as  it  is  more  generally  known,  the  "  school 
survey,"  represents  the  latter  movement.  Surveys  have  come  to  be  so  frequent  in  educa- 
tional and  civic  movements  that  some  doubt  has  already  arisen  as  to  the  thoroughness 
of  their  procedure  and  as  to  the  trustworthiness  of  their  results.  There  can  be  no  ques- 
tion that  such  studies  have  in  a  measure  partaken  of  the  very  superficiality  for  which 
they  arraign  the  school  system  itself.  Nevertheless,  it  seems  clear  that  the  method 


THE  METHOD  OF  THE  ENQUIRY  5 

of  a  thoughtful  enquiry  into  existing  educational  machinery  must  form  the  only 
sound  basis  for  ultimate  improvement  and  advancement,  and  what  is  still  more  signi- 
ficant, it  must  form  the  only  method  by  which  a  clear  understanding  on  the  part  of 
the  whole  people  concerning  the  school  system  can  be  secured.  For  in  the  last  analysis 
tlie  w  orth  and  progress  of  the  public  schools  depend  upon  a  well-informed  public 
opinion. 

The  present  enquiry  represents  the  first  comprehensive  effort  on  the  part  of  a  state 
of  the  Union  to  study  its  school  system  as  a  whole  from  the  elementary  school  to  the 
university.  It  starts  out  with  the  assumption  that  educational  institutions  in  Ver- 
mont are  not  unrelated  agencies,  but  form  parts  of  one  educational  system,  whether 
controlled  by  the  state  or  not. 

The  enquiry  is  not  in  the  ordinary  sense  an  investigation.  It  is  not  undertaken 
with  the  desire  to  criticize  the  work  or  to  find  the  mistakes  of  any  men  or  set  of  men. 
Its  attitude  toward  the  past  is  in  the  main  negative,  except  in  so  far  as  an  historical 
perspective  is  necessary.  What  the  enquiry  has  tried  to  do  has  been  to  set  before  the 
Educational  Commission  of  Vermont  and  the  people  of  the  state  their  school  system 
as  it  exists  and  is  operated  to-day,  and  to  give  such  constructive  suggestions  as  this 
examination  shows  to  be  feasible.  It  has  sought  to  answer  the  questions :  What  is  the 
system  of  schools  to-day  trying  to  do.''  What  are  its  limitations.?  and  What  are  its 
possibilities.'' 

In  the  prosecution  of  such  an  enquiry  care  has  to  be  taken  not  only  to  obtain  the 
necessary  data  upon  which  to  form  a  sound  judgment,  but  what  is  still  more  diffi- 
cult, to  present  the  material  collected  and  to  offer  the  conclusions  which  have  been 
reached  in  a  clear  and  simple  form.  Printed  reports  of  educational  studies  are  gen- 
erally weighted  down  with  so  many  statistics  and  with  such  an  amount  of  detail  that 
the  intelligent  layman  cannot  find  his  way  through  the  mass. 

In  preparing  this  report  an  enormous  amount  of  material  has  been  brought  to- 
gether, nearly  all  of  which  is  of  great  interest  to  the  student  of  education,  but  printed 
in  a  report  would,  by  its  very  bulk,  cloud  the  important  and  fundamental  issues.  It 
has  been  sought,  therefore,  to  present  the  facts  without  burdening  the  pages  of  the 
report  with  too  great  an  amount  of  statistics.  The  important  statistics  are  given  in 
Part  III. 

In  collecting  the  necessary  information  chief  reliance  has  been  placed  upon  exten- 
sive and  detailed  studies  on  the  ground.  The  effort  has  been  made  to  minimize  the 
factors  of  individual  judgment  and  to  record  observations  in  objective  terms.  The 
aim  has  not  been  to  make  a  microscopic  examination  of  the  school  system;  on  the 
contrary,  the  enquiry  has  attempted  to  place  before  the  people  of  the  state  those 
essential  facts  and  relationships  that  determine  the  economy  and  the  performance 
of  the  school  system  as  a  whole.  It  is  necessary  in  such  a  study  to  concentrate  upon 
strategic  factors  and  those  that  have  significance.  No  outside  group  of  men,  how- 
ever thoroughly  they  may  study  the  educational  problems  of  a  state  or  of  a  region, 


6  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

can  transform  the  school  system.  That  must  be  done  by  the  agency  which  is  charged 
with  the  conduct  and  oversight  of  the  schools  themselves.  The  best  that  an  outside 
critic  can  do  is  to  suggest  the  form  of  organization  adapted  to  administer  the  school 
system  and  the  general  underlying  principles  upon  which  it  should  act.  The  actual 
development  and  improvement  of  the  schools  will  in  the  end  rest  with  those  who 
direct  and  conduct  the  schools. 

Throughout  the  report  the  effort  is  made  to  avoid  both  the  attitude  of  flattery 
and  that  of  mere  fault-finding,  and  to  give  the  result  of  an  honest  and  sincere  study 
clearly,  frankly,  and  sympathetically. 

The  most  distinctive  and  important  characteristic  of  the  whole  work  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  a  first-hand  study  of  education  in  Vermont  made  from  the  standpoint 
of  one  organism,  embracing  the  whole  educational  system  from  elementary  school 
to  university.  In  this  respect  it  is  in  marked  contrast  to  former  studies,  in  which  sep- 
arate schools  or  groups  of  schools  have  been  considered  as  unrelated  agencies.  The 
commission  itself  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  viewing  education  in  Vermont  from 
this  broader  standpoint,  and  those  to  whom  the  commission  entrusted  the  duty  of 
this  study  have  tried  to  keep  consistently  in  mind  the  fact  that  there  was  desired 
for  the  state  of  Vermont  a  conception  of  education  as  a  single  thing.  It  is  from  the 
consistency  of  this  point  of  view  that  the  study  possesses  whatever  significance  it 
may  have  attained. 

A  word  should  be  said  concerning  the  personnel  and  methods  of  work  of  those 
responsible  for  the  report.  This  study  was  committed  to  the  charge  of  the  Carnegie 
Foundation.  It  has  occupied  for  a  number  of  months  a  large  share  of  the  time  and 
energy  of  the  President,  the  Secretary,  and  other  members  of  the  staff;  and  other 
experts  in  various  fields  have  shared  in  planning  and  carrying  out  the  work. 

Professor  Edward  C.  Elliott  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  was  at  the  beginning 
invited  to  take  part  in  the  study,  and  to  give  to  the  planning  of  the  work  the  benefit  of 
his  experience  in  such  surveys.  In  addition.  Professor  Elliott  made  special  studies  of 
the  normal  schools  and  the  state  system  of  educational  administration  and  expendi- 
ture. The  detailed  examination  of  the  elementary  schools  was  committed  to  Professor 
Milo  B.  Hillegas  of  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  and  that  of  the  secondary 
schools  to  Dr.  William  S.  Learned  of  the  Harvard  School  of  Education.  Throughout, 
the  utmost  independence  has  been  given  to  the  individual  investigator,  but  all  of  the 
material  brought  together  has  been  submitted  to  the  scrutiny  and  suggestion  of  all 
the  men  composing  this  group.  The  report,  therefore,  represents  not  the  detached 
opinions  of  individuals,  but  a  coordinated  whole. 

Two  of  the  sections  are  essentially  monographs,  that  on  the  elementary  schools  hav- 
ing been  prepared  by  Dr.  Hillegas  and  that  on  the  secondary  schools  by  Dr.  Learned. 
These  two  studies,  forming  as  they  do  the  backbone  of  the  educational  enquiry, 
required  the  presence  in  the  state  of  these  two  men  for  many  weeks,  and  represent 
the  result  of  months  of  study. 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  7 

In  addition  to  the  group  just  mentioned,  the  Foundation  has  availed  itself  wher- 
ever possible  of  expert  service  in  special  fields.  Professor  Edward  H.  Fari'ington  of 
the  College  of  Agriculture  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  made  a  study  of  the  ag- 
ricultural college  and  its  i-elations  to  the  farming  industries;  Dr.  Nathaniel  Bowditch 
Potter,  Assistant  Professor  of  Internal  Medicine  at  Columbia  University,  of  the 
medical  school;  Dr.  George  R.  Olshausen  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Standards, 
of  the  three  engineering  schools;  Miss  L.  E.  Stearns,  Chief  of  the  Traveling  Library 
Department  of  the  Wisconsin  Free  Library,  of  library  facilities  in  relation  to  the 
public  schools ;  and  Mr.  William  Leslie,  public  accountant,  of  the  system  of  accounts 
and  financial  statements  in  use  in  the  school  system. 

It  should  be  added  that,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  commission,  an  effort 
was  made  to  complete  this  study  in  a  shorter  time.  The  experience  of  those  engaged 
in  the  work  has  gone  to  show  that  a  considerable  period  of  study  and  of  reexamination 
is  a  necessary  part  of  a  work  of  this  character.  It  has  seemed  impossible  to  go  faster. 

Those  responsible  for  this  study  desire  to  express  their  appreciation  of  the  attitude 
of  the  governor  of  the  state  and  of  the  Educational  Commission,  as  well  as  of  the 
boards  of  trustees  and  presidents  of  the  higher  educational  institutions,  the  super- 
intendent of  education,  the  state  board  of  education,  and  the  school  officials  and 
teachers.  The  governor  and  the  commission  have  simply  said  to  those  charged  with 
the  enquiry :  Find  the  facts  and  report  them  to  us ;  tell  us  the  truth  about  education 
in  Vermont. 

In  the  same  excellent  spirit  those  connected  with  colleges  and  schools  have  lent 
themselves  to  the  furnishing  of  all  information  which  either  the  commission  or  those 
engaged  in  this  study  have  desired.  It  has  been  an  inspiration  to  serve  a  commission 
which  asked  only  to  know  the  truth ;  it  has  been  equally  pleasant  to  deal  with  school 
officials  and  teachers  so  willing  to  submit  their  entire  educational  machinery  to  an 
outside  critic. 


Ill 
CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  second  part  of  this  report  describes  in  detail  the  condition,  operation,  educational 
relations,  and  the  financial  support  of  the  various  classes  of  schools  and  higher  insti- 
tutions in  the  state  of  Vermont. 

The  primary  purpose  of  the  study  is  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  Educational  Com- 
mission the  essential  facts  which  will  enable  them  to  form  conclusions,  to  make  recom- 
mendations, and  to  propose  legislation.  The  recommendations  to  the  state  and  to  the 
legislature  belong  to  the  commission  and  not  to  the  group  of  men  associated  with  the 
Carnegie  Foundation  and  engaged  in  this  study.  It  seems,  however,  desirable  to  col- 
lect into  a  summary,  for  the  use  both  of  the  commission  and  of  the  citizens  of  Ver- 


8  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

mont,  the  conclusions  to  which  this  united  group  of  students  has  been  led.  These 
results  and  conclusions  are,  therefore,  here  stated  in  brief  form. 

A  necessary  prerequisite  to  an  appreciation  of  the  report  is  some  knowledge  of  the 
industrial,  social,  and  financial  characteristics  of  the  state.  As  compared  with  most 
states  of  the  American  Union,  Vermont  is  small,  having  a  population  of  some  350,000. 
Its  total  annual  income  is  not  larger  than  the  sum  annually  expended  by  some  of 
the  great  western  states  upon  their  state  universities.  Vermont  is  therefore  financially 
unable  to  enter  upon  many  of  the  projects  of  education  that  a  rich  and  populous  state 
can  undertake.  Furthermore,  the  chief  industry  is  agriculture,  and  the  state  is  likely 
to  remain — at  least  for  some  generations — predominantly  agricultural.  Finally,  it 
is  to  be  remembered  that  Vermont,  in  larger  measure  than  other  states,  has  sent  its 
young  people  away  from  home  into  the  industrial  occupations  of  other  communities. 
Its  population  has  remained  practically  stationary  for  nearly  half  a  century.  Its  young 
people  have  gone  to  the  other  New  England  states,  to  New  York,  to  the  west.  With 
this  migration  there  is  no  question  that  the  system  of  education  hitherto  pursued 
has  had  something  to  do. 

One  conclusion  stands  out  as  the  fundamental  and  important  outcome  of  this 
study.  It  is  that  the  chief  problem  with  which  the  state  is  concerned  is  the  care  and 
development  of  its  elementary  and  secondary  schools.  No  one  whose  vision  is  true 
would  seek  to  belittle  the  problem  of  higher  education,  but  in  rural  communities 
such  as  prevail  in  Vermont,  the  problem  of  the  common  school  overshadows  all  others. 
So  overwhelming  is  its  importance  that  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  if  the  state 
develops  an  efficient  and  fruitful  system  of  elementary  and  secondary  schools  and 
makes  sure  of  an  effective  source  from  which  teachers  for  the  elementary  and  second- 
ary schools  may  be  drawn,  the  essential  problem  of  education  for  Vermont  is  solved. 

The  detailed  studies  that  follow  show  that  of  the  nearly  1700  schoolhouses  in 
the  state,  nearly  1400  are  one-room  school  buildings — nearly  all  of  these  rural 
schools.  Of  the  83,000  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  seventeen,  57,000  are 
attending  the  elementary  schools.  Few  of  these  children  enter  the  school  before  six 
years  of  age,  and  practically  none  remain  after  sixteen.  For  these  elementary  schools 
there  are  required  about  2400  teachers,  whose  pay  is  between  $8  and  $9  weekly.  The 
future  of  Vermont  and  her  citizens  is  to  be  wi'ought  out  in  these  schools  and  by  these 
teachers. 

In  a  similar  way  the  detailed  study  elsewhere  presented  shows  that  the  problem 
of  secondary  education  in  Vermont  has  the  rural  situation  as  its  essential  factor.  To 
make  these  two  agencies,  the  elementary  school  and  the  secondary  school,  effective 
in  forming  the  lives  of  the  children  is  the  fundamental  problem  which  confronts  the 
state. 

A  study  of  the  detailed  reports  will  make  it  clear  that,  notwithstanding  the  great 
amount  of  devotion  put  into  the  separate  schools,  and  notwithstanding  also  the  intel- 
ligence applied  by  this  or  that  supervisor,  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools  of 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  9 

Vermont  have  for  years  been  conducted  upon  a  curriculum  whose  tendency  is  to  draw 
children  away  from  the  homes  in  which  they  were  born.  Notwithstanding  certain 
improvements,  the  school  still  fails  to  interest  them  directly  and  efficiently  in  the  life 
about  them.  This  condition  is  dealt  with  in  the  two  sections  relating  to  the  elemen- 
tary and  secondary  schools.  These  sections  carefully  discuss  the  fundamental  ques- 
tions, What  is  the  elementary  school  for.?  What  sort  of  school  can  serve  fruitfully 
and  efficiently  the  aspirations,  the  needs,  and  the  vocational  wants  of  a  rural  popu- 
lation.? Whether  the  answers  to  these  questions  have  been  completely  worked  out 
or  not,  it  seems  clear  that  at  least  four  things  must  be  done  in  order  to  bring  the  ele- 
mentary and  secondary  school  system  of  Vermont  to  the  point  where,  as  an  agency 
of  civilization,  it  will  meet  the  requirements  of  its  people. 

First,  there  must  be  adopted  in  the  elementary  school,  and  later  in  the  high  school, 
a  course  of  study  related  to  the  life  of  the  child.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  strong 
intellectual  motive  of  the  elementary  school  must  be  abandoned.  The  value  of  studies 
like  the  mother  tongue  and  elementary  mathematics  can  never  be  questioned,  but  it  is 
clear  that  the  domination  of  the  college  and  of  preparation  for  college  has  had  an 
undue  effect  upon  the  courses  of  study  and  the  methods  of  instruction  even  in  the  ele- 
mentary schools,  ninety-five  per  cent  of  whose  children  are  never  to  enter  college.  The 
difficulty  arises  partly  out  of  the  fundamental  conception  of  education  and  partly 
out  of  a  failure  to  accomplish  practically  the  result  aimed  at.  That  human  being  is 
educated  who  has  been  so  trained  as  to  make  the  best  out  of  the  place  in  life  in  which 
he  finds  himself,  taking  into  account  his  full  capacity — spiritual,  intellectual,  eco- 
nomic. Education  is  therefore  a  relative,  not  an  absolute  term.  The  school  as  the  agency 
of  education  is  founded  upon  this  conception,  but  traditional  school  methods  tend 
constantly  to  obscure  it  and  to  harden  into  specifics  unrelated  to  the  life  experience 
of  the  children.  As  a  minimum  the  school  should  do  at  least  three  things  for  the 
child  —  teach  him  self-discipline,  teach  him  to  think,  and  strengthen  his  relations 
to  the  social  and  industrial  interests  of  his  community.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  not  alone  in  Vermont,  but  throughout  our  states,  in  the  country-side  schools 
the  children  are  put  through  the  grades  under  a  regime  which  gives  them  little  self- 
discipline,  dulls  their  minds  with  artificial  repetitions  and  routine  tasks,  and,  so  far  as 
it  educates  them  at  all,  educates  them  away  from  the  life  in  which  they  have  grown 
up.  Any  foi-m  of  school  that  weakens  the  child's  interest  in  the  life  of  his  community 
is  deficient  in  the  elemental  requisite  of  the  school  as  an  agency  of  civilization.  Some- 
thing is  radically  wrong  with  a  school  in  an  agricultural  community  that  develops 
motormen,  stenographers,  and  typewriters,  and  fails  to  develop  farmers,  dairymen, 
and  gardeners.  A  course  of  study  prepared  with  the  view  of  correcting  this  condition 
is  the  first  step  in  reform. 

Secondly,  there  should  be  provided  for  the  school  system  of  Vermont  an  educational 
administration  fhat  shall  supervise  the  schools  as  a  whole,  and  that  shall  bring  to 
every  high  school  and  to  every  elementary  school  genuine,  sympathetic  educational 


10  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

advice.  It  has  been  pathetic  to  see  the  eagerness  with  which  the  rural  school  teacher 
reaches  out  for  educational  help.  One's  respect  for  womankind  (the  typical  rural 
teacher  is  a  young  woman  of  twenty -two  or  twenty-three)  and  one's  respect  for  the 
rural  school  deepen  when  one  sees  the  devotion,  the  energy,  and  oftentimes  the  great 
natural  teaching  ability  that  are  displayed  by  a  rural  elementary  school  teacher.  Any 
system  of  educational  administration  that  is  to  be  successful  must  provide  the  means 
by  which  these  isolated  teachers  may  be  visited  by  experts  who  can  sympathetically, 
intelligently,  and  skilfully  help  them  to  correct  mistakes  and  to  strengthen  their  own 
good  qualities.  This  means  adequate  administrative  organization  at  the  top. 

In  the  third  place,  and  equally  necessary,  is  the  condition  that  the  educational  ad- 
ministration, whatever  it  may  be,  which  is  to  scrutinize,  to  assist,  and  to  inspire,  shall 
be  free  from  political  entanglement.  In  Vermont,  as  in  all  other  states,  education  is  to- 
day mingled  with  local  politics.  The  unique  political  organization  of  the  state,  under 
which  each  town  has  equal  representation  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  lends  itself 
to  such  a  confusion.  It  is  a  part  of  human  nature  that  under  such  circumstances  the 
local  representative  will  interfere  either  for  his  own  interest  or  for  the  supposed  in- 
terest of  the  schools  in  his  region.  A  form  of  administration  must  be  devised  under 
which  the  inspection  and  scrutiny  and  development  of  the  schools  shall  be  inde- 
pendent of  politics,  and  this  is  no  less  in  the  interest  of  those  who  hold  office  than  in 
the  interest  of  the  schools  and  of  the  scholars.  In  many  instances  —  perhaps  in  most 
instances  —  the  intentions  of  the  political  representative  who  interferes  are  good. 
The  difficulty  is  that  whatever  his  intentions  are,  he  is  almost  sure  to  interfere  from 
the  local  and  personal  point  of  view,  and  the  success  of  the  administration  depends 
upon  deli^'ering  the  school  system  from  local  and  personal  interference.  Freedom  from 
political  pressure  must  be  had  before  the  school  can  do  its  work  with  an  eye  single 
to  the  good  of  all  the  people  of  its  region. 

Finally,  agencies  must  be  provided  by  which  the  requisite  number  of  trained  teachers 
can  be  obtained  for  the  elementary  schools — teachers  who  shall  have  had  some  train- 
ing not  only  in  arithmetic  and  in  geography  and  in  English,  but  shall  have  had  a  train- 
ing also  in  the  social  point  of  view  from  which  they  must  approach  their  work.  The 
future  of  Vermont  lies  in  the  hands  of  these  teachers,  and  no  single  act  that  the  state 
government  can  perform  is  more  important  than  that  which  seeks  to  provide  the 
means  for  training  in  the  right  way  an  adequate  supply  of  teachers  for  the  elementary 
rural  schools.  As  a  practical  matter  this  means  that  a  twenty-two-year-old  young 
woman,  paid  at  present  at  the  low  rate  of  about  eight  and  a  half  dollars  a  week, 
must  be  fitted  for  this  task,  and  that  her  education  for  the  teacher's  calling  must  be 
had  within  easy  reach  of  her  home. 

In  the  sections  on  elementary,  secondary,  and  normal  schools,  plans  are  outlined 
for  the  training  of  a  large  number  of  elementary  school  teachers.  Experience  shows 
that  for  the  next  generation,  at  least,  the  school  teacher  is  to  be  the  country  girl  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  that  she  must  obtain  a  considerable  part  of  her  preliminary 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  11 

education  and  her  training  as  a  teacher  near  her  home.  The  country  girl  transplanted 
to  a  city  and  given  a  college  education  seldom  conies  back  to  the  country  school.  In 
time,  there  will  be  needed,  doubtless,  an  institution  specifically  devoted  to  the  train- 
ing of  teachers.  It  is  pointed  out  elsewhere  that  neither  of  the  existing  normal  schools 
is  fitted  to  answer  this  purpose.  It  will  be  found  wise  to  give  up  both  of  these  institu- 
tions as  soon  as  may  be,  and  to  leave  to  the  state  board  of  education  to  suggest  later 
the  form  of  teachers'  training  institution  that  is  to  supplement  the  work  of  the  sec- 
ondary school  in  the  training  of  teachers. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  teachers  necessary  for  the  secondary  schools  are  already 
supplied  in  sufficient  numbers  by  the  colleges,  but  the  examination  that  has  been 
made  shows  that  the  quality  of  these  teachers,  so  far  as  their  knowledge  of  theoi-etical 
and  practical  teaching  is  concerned,  leaves  much  to  be  desired.  It  is  clear  that  if  the 
colleges  are  to  supply  a  teacher  equal  to  the  work  of  the  secondary  school,  they  must 
give  these  teachers  a  far  more  practical  training  in  teaching  than  has  hitherto  been 
the  case. 

As  a  part  of  elementary  and  secondary  instruction  there  should  be  included  the 
gradual  development  of  vocational  facilities.  The  chief  industry  in  Vermont  to-day  is 
agriculture,  and  while  manufacturing  is  also  making  sti'ides,  it  may  fairly  be  assumed 
that  for  many  years  to  come  agriculture  will  remain  the  chief  vocation  of  its  citi- 
zens, and  the  development  gradually  of  a  sufficient  number  of  trade  schools  or  courses 
in  agriculture  should  be  a  part  of  the  school  program.  Such  schools  will  naturally 
form  a  part  of  the  regular  system  of  schools,  and  their  development  will  be  a  part  of 
the  work  of  the  board  of  education  and  its  experts,  working  in  unison  with  the  towns. 

Here,  then,  are  the  fundamental  things  which  this  study  points  out  as  the  neces- 
sary steps  to  an  educational  program  which  shall  educate  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Vermont  for  service  in  Veraiont,  not  for  migration;  which  shall  turn  their  faces 
toward  the  duties  and  opportunities  of  their  own  homes  rather  than  toward  the 
more  tempting,  but  more  illusory,  ventures  of  a  city.  These  are,  first  of  all,  a  course 
of  study  in  the  elementary  and  secondary  school  having  relation  to  the  life,  the  as- 
pirations, the  needs  of  the  pupils;  second,  an  educational  supervision  of  the  whole 
system  of  public  education  that  shall  be  able  to  give  wise  counsel,  to  correct  mis- 
takes including  its  own,  to  infuse  a  spirit  of  devotion  and  of  serious  thinking;  third, 
an  educational  administration  that  shall  be  free  from  political  pressure,  independent 
of  local  politics,  able  to  deal  with  the  schools  from  the  standpoint  of  education  only, 
not  from  the  standpoint  of  the  interests  of  an  individual  or  of  a  locality;  and  finally, 
agencies  whose  specific  work  shall  be  the  training  of  the  elementary  school  teacher, — 
a  training  that  shall  bring  out  the  significance  of  that  work,  that  shall  breathe  into 
it  an  ever  increasing  amount  of  enthusiasm  and  appreciation,  and  that  in  due  time 
will  bring  to  the  efficient  teacher  a  greater  security,  a  true  career,  and  a  better  finan- 
cial reward.  Under  such  a  regime  the  teacher  would  in  time  come  to  be  a  member  of 
an  honored  profession,  not  a  hired  man  or  woman. 


12  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Logically,  the  matter  of  administration  must  be  met  first.  What  form  of  organi- 
zation is  adapted  to  undertake  such  a  supervision  of  the  schools,  to  furnish  expert 
advice,  to  develop  a  curriculum  which  shall  be  fruitful,  and  to  train,  direct,  and  aid 
the  teachers  themselves? 

All  problems  of  education  resolve  themselves  in  the  last  analysis  to  the  process  of 
bringing  an  immature  mind  into  contact  with  a  mind  which  is  trained,  with  a  spirit 
which  is  sympathetic,  with  a  faculty  which  is  critical,  but  kindly.  The  problem  of  the 
educational  supervision  of  a  system  of  schools  consists  in  providing  a  sufficient  body 
of  well-trained  men  and  women  at  the  top,  and  in  giving  to  them  the  chance  to  work, 
unhampered  by  ulterior  and  outside  interests,  with  the  teachers  whom  they  desire  to 
help. 

Such  an  organization  would  consist  of  a  commissioner  of  education  and  a  competent 
staff  of  assistants,  who  are  experts  in  various  fields,  and  are  in  constant  touch  with 
the  superintendents  and  with  the  teachers  themselves. Without  giving  details  else- 
where elaborated,  such  an  organization  would  be  able  to  bring  to  each  school  and  to 
each  teacher  as  large  a  measure  of  helpful  advice,  of  criticism,  and  of  encouragement 
as  the  abilities  of  its  members  could  supply. 

To  protect  such  an  organization  and  to  make  it  independent  of  politics,  the  head  of 
the  educational  system  should  be  the  executive  officer  of  a  small  board,  which  should 
consist  of  public-spirited  citizens  serving  without  salary  and  acting  as  the  advisers  and 
helpers  of  the  educational  head  of  the  system.  The  board  should  be  a  lay  board,  not  a 
board  of  educational  experts,  and  no  man  should  have  a  place  upon  it  who  is  directly 
concerned  or  interested  in  any  school  or  educational  institution  of  the  state.  The  func- 
tion of  such  a  board  is  not  to  furnish  expert  advice;  it  is  to  furnish  sound  counsel  and 
to  stand  as  the  protector  of  the  whole  school  system  against  interference.  It  is  its  duty 
to  see  that  the  head  of  the  school  system  and  all  others  associated  with  it  are  work- 
ing in  the  true  spirit  of  education,  not  from  any  other  motive.  Some  such  organization 
would  be  competent  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  education  as  a  whole,  not  piece- 
meal; as  an  organization,  not  as  unrelated  principals  and  teachers.  To-day  one  sees 
everywhere  in  the  world  the  results  of  efficient  organization.  Organization  can  be  car- 
ried so  far  that  it  limits  personal  initiative  and  individual  development.  In  America, 
however,  all  our  tendencies  are  in  the  other  direction. We  ignore  the  results  of  good 
organization  and  affect  a  belief  that  Americans,  untrained  and  unorganized,  are 
able  to  compete  with  the  best  training  and  the  most  effective  organization.  Such  an 
organization  as  is  here  suggested  would  make  for  efficiency  at  no  loss  of  individual 
freedom. 

So  far,  therefore,  as  the  results  of  this  study  concern  the  general  public  school 
system  of  Vermont,  they  are  contained  in  the  recommendation :  Establish  a  competent 
educational  administration;  free  it  from  political  interference;  give  it  a  free  hand 
to  work  out  a  course  of  study  that  shall  meet  the  people's  needs,  to  train  teachers 
who  are  able  to  deal  with  its  life,  and  to  develop  those  vocational  schools  which  may 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  13 

minister  most  directly  to  the  opportunities  which  offer  themselves  to  the  Vermont 
boy  and  the  Vermont  girl. 

The  situation  that  exists  in  higher  education  in  the  state  is  likewise  dealt  with  in 
detail  in  the  sections  referring  to  the  separate  institutions  of  higher  learning  which 
participate  in  the  state  subsidy.  Briefly  stated,  there  are  three  institutions  that  for 
years  have  been  obtaining  from  the  state  treasury  larger  or  smaller  appropriations. 
In  recent  years  these  sums  have  grown  rapidly,  until  at  present  the  three  colleges 
are  receiving  from  the  state  something  over  .$100,000  annually.  In  addition,  the  state 
receives  from  the  federal  government  for  educational  purposes  $88,000. 

Elsewhere  in  the  report  the  process  through  which  this  situation  has  been  brought 
about  is  fully  described.  Beginning  thirty  years  ago  with  a  small  appropriation  to 
a  single  institution,  first  one  and  then  another  of  these  colleges  has  successfully  ap- 
plied to  the  legislature  for  a  share  in  the  state's  revenue.  The  increase  of  the  appro- 
priation by  the  friends  of  one  has  been  a  signal  for  an  increase  in  the  appropriation 
for  the  others,  and  by  a  perfectly  natural  process  the  three  institutions  have  been  led 
into  a  rivalry  alike  harmful  to  them,  to  the  state,  and  to  education.  The  struggle  for 
the  college  appropriations  is  more  or  less  intimately  connected  with  all  other  legisla- 
tion. Many  abuses  have  crept  in  to  help  out  the  plea  for  such  appropriations  or  to 
justify  it.  The  subsidizing  of  students  by  scholarships,  some  of  them  to  be  conferred 
by  members  of  the  senate,  is  particularly  to  be  regretted.  Such  subsidies  to  students 
are  nearly  always  unwise,  and  if  given  at  all,  they  ought  to  be  open  to  students  under 
some  fair  system  of  competition,  and  should  entitle  the  holder  to  go  not  to  a  par- 
ticular institution,  but  to  any  institution  that  he  may  choose.  The  subsidizing  of  stu- 
dents to  go  to  college  is  at  best  of  doubtful  wisdom.  The  opportunities  for  education 
in  this  country  are  so  numerous  that  the  ambitious  student  with  energy  and  courage 
can  find  his  way  through  college  by  his  own  efforts.  Whatever  assistance  is  given 
should  be  under  conditions  carefully  planned  to  safeguard  the  integrity  and  self- 
respect  of  the  student.  Scholarship  aid  should  be  a  loan  to  be  repaid,  not  a  free  gift. 
Any  system  of  scholarships  that  selects  a  few  beneficiaries  and  demands  no  return  from 
them  results  inevitably  in  tempting  into  college  youths  who  ought  to  find  their  life 
training  elsewhere,  a  result  alike  harmful  to  the  student  and  to  the  college.  This  is 
an  entirely  different  matter  from  providing  free  education  for  all  of  the  people. 

The  existing  relation  of  the  state  to  these  colleges  ought  to  cease.  As  is  elsewhere 
fully  pointed  out,  it  is  demoralizing  alike  to  the  political  interests  of  the  state,  to 
the  institutions  themselves,  and  "to  education.  In  saying  all  of  this  no  criticism  is 
aimed  at  those  responsible  for  the  present  policy  of  the  three  colleges.  They  inher- 
ited a  situation ;  they  did  not  make  it.  A  man  called  to  the  presidency  of  a  college  is 
first  of  all  pledged  to  support  the  development  of  his  institution.  It  is  not  for  him 
to  decide  the  question  whether  the  state  should  give  money  to  higher  education ;  that 
is  a  question  for  the  law-makers.  There  is  no  gain  to  be  had  in  asking  at  whose  door 
is  to  be  laid  the  responsibility  for  the  condition  that  exists.  It  is  plainly  intolerable, 


14  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

and  the  plain  duty  of  the  legislature  is  to  end  it.  The  question  is  not  what  has  been 
going  on  in  the  last  thirty  years,  but  what  ought  to  be  the  policy  of  the  state  of 
Vermont  toward  education  in  the  future?  Our  profound  conviction  is  that  the  state 
ought  first  of  all  to  face  its  duty  toward  that  fundamental  education  which  involves 
the  interests  of  all  citizens.  It  should  appropriate  no  money  whatsoever  to  higher 
education  until  its  duty  toward  the  public  schools  has  been  fully  met.  In  our  judg- 
ment, the  cause  of  higher  education  in  Vermont  would  not  suffer  if  it  received  no 
state  aid  in  the  future. 

There  are  only  two  consistent  policies  that  a  state  can  pursue  toward  institutions 
of  higher  education.  It  can  give  its  support  entirely  to  the  elementary  and  second- 
ary school  work  and  leave  higher  education  to  be  supported  by  public  philanthropy. 
This  is  the  situation  in  most  of  the  New  England  states.  It  is  clear-cut;  it  is  consist- 
ent; it  is  defensible  both  on  the  ground  of  public  policy  and  of  education.  The  other 
attitude  is  that  assumed  by  the  states  of  the  central  west,  of  the  far  west,  and  of 
the  south;  namely,  that  higher  education  is  likewise  a  function  of  the  state  and  is 
entitled  to  state  support,  but  that  the  state  will  appropriate  money  to  no  institu- 
tion that  it  does  not  own  and  control.  This  policy  is  also  clear-cut  and  defensible, 
both  educationally  and  on  the  ground  of  a  wise  public  policy. 

For  Vermont  the  adoption  of  this  second  policy  is  encumbered  with  evident  diffi- 
culties ;  Vermont  cannot  possibly  support  a  state  university  that  seeks  to  cover  the 
ordinary  field  of  undergraduate  and  professional  instruction.  It  is  no  burden  for  states 
like  California,  Illinois,  Minnesota,  or  Wisconsin  to  appropriate  $2,000,000  or  even 
$5,000,000  annually  to  their  state  universities.  The  entire  annual  income  of  the  state 
of  Vermont  is  but  little  more  than  the  sum  which  each  of  these  states  gives  annually 
to  its  university.  The  most  that  the  state  of  Vermont  could  possibly  do,  if  it  selected 
one  of  these  subsidized  institutions  to  become  its  state  university,  would  be  to  help 
out  the  resources  derived  from  the  friends  of  education  and  of  the  institution  itself 
for  the  development  of  certain  restricted  fields  of  education  which  were  deemed  espe- 
cially important  to  the  state.  Under  such  circumstances,  however,  it  is  fairly  certain 
that  state  aid  would  check  and  eventually  dry  up  the  springs  of  private  giving,  and 
prove  in  the  end  an  embarrassment  rather  than  a  help  to  higher  education. 

Before  any  such  policy  can  be  adopted  or  such  appropriation  made,  the  c^uestion 
must  be  answered:  Has  Vermont  any  money  to  spend  at  this  time  on  higher  educa- 
tion, in  view  of  its  obligations  and  its  needs  in  the  fundamental  elementary  education 
of  the  great  body  of  children?  With  still  more  emphasis  it  may  be  asked.  Can  it  afford 
to  subsidize  two  rival  schools  of  engineering,  two  schools  of  education,  or  a  medical 
school  in  which  last  year's  entering  class  contained  three  Vermont  students? 

To  those  who  have  been  engaged  in  this  study  it  seems  clear  that  at  the  present 
time  Vermont  needs  all  its  money  for  the  more  important,  the  more  vital,  the  more 
direct  service  of  its  public  school  system.  It  is  also  by  no  means  certain  that  the 
withdrawal  of  state  aid  from  the  three  colleges  that  have  hitherto  been  subsidized 


CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS  15 

may  not  in  the  long  run  be  the  best  possible  thing  that  could  happen  for  them.  Any 
other  decision  is  likely  to  perpetuate  the  unfortunate  rivalry  that  now  exists.  No 
matter  upon  what  grounds  a  privately  endowed  institution  is  subsidized,  no  matter 
how  restricted  the  field  to  which  the  appropriation  might  seem  to  apply,  just  so  long 
as  the  state  of  Vermont  subsidizes  these  three  institutions,  education  and  politics  in 
Vermont  will  be  inextricably  mingled,  and  unprofitable  duplication  will  continue. 
There  is  no  way  in  which  the  situation  can  be  ended  once  for  all  except  for  the  state 
either  to  adopt  one  of  these  institutions  as  its  own,  to  be  absolutely  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  it,  or  else  to  leave  higher  education  to  those  public-spirited  citizens  who, 
in  all  the  states  of  our  Union,  have  come  forward  so  promptly  and  so  patriotically 
for  its  support.  Every  consideration  of  the  larger  interests  of  Vermont  points  out  the 
latter  of  these  policies  as  the  right  one  to  adopt.  The  duty  of  the  state  in  this  matter 
and  of  those  charged  with  legislating  for  it  seems  to  us  clear  and  unequivocal. 

The  conclusions  that  have  been  reached  may  be  resolved  into  the  following  recom- 
mendations: 

1.  The  recognition  by  the  state  of  the  reorganization  of  elementary  and  secondary 
education,  including  vocational  training,  as  its  immediate  and  supreme  duty. 

2.  The  organization  of  the  office  of  a  commissioner  of  education  upon  a  basis 
competent  to  furnish  expert  supervision  for  the  public  school  system.  This  in- 
volves a  small  lay  board  serving  without  salary,  and  salaries  for  educational 
experts  of  a  character  to  secure  the  ablest  men  and  women.  The  details  of  this 
organization  are  given  in  Section  IX  of  Part  II. 

8.  The  problem  of  revision  of  the  course  of  study,  the  establishment  of  agencies 
for  training  teachers,  and  other  administrative  details  to  be  worked  out  by  this 
board  and  its  experts. 

4.  The  State  Agricultural  College  to  receive  a  larger  proportion  of  the  gener- 
ous annual  appropriation  to  the  state  from  the  federal  government  and  to  be 
developed  along  lines  calculated  to  make  a  fruitful  connection  between  the  Agri- 
cultural College  and  the  industries  of  farming,  dairying,  gardening,  stock  and 
poultry  raising,  and  fruit  culture. 

5.  Subsidies  to  higher  education  should  cease,  the  colleges  being  given  a  reason- 
able time  in  which  to  rearrange  their  budgets. 

The  practical  question  remains.  What  would  be  the  cost  of  the  educational  system 
that  is  recommended? 

In  subsequent  sections  will  be  found  such  details  as  are  preliminary  to  an  answer  to 
this  question.  The  actual  details  must  be  gradually  worked  out  by  the  board  of  edu- 
cation and  its  officers.  No  such  organization  can  be  built  up  in  a  day  or  a  year,  and 
no  outside  agency  can  do  more  than  indicate  the  form  of  the  organization  and  the 
general  principles  which  should  guide  it.  No  system  of  schools  is  ever  to  be  brought 
to  a  high  order  of  educational  efficiency  by  the  formula  of  an  outsider.  Educational 
salvation  is  not  so  easy  as  this.  Each  state  must  work  out  its  own  salvation  through 


16  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

its  adopted  agencies.  The  most  that  can  be  done  by  the  friendliest  critic  is  to  indi- 
cate the  form  of  organization  that  experience  has  tested  and  the  path  that  has  led 
to  educational  progress. 

Stated  in  its  briefest  form,  the  financial  situation  is  this:  Vermont  is  spending  upon 
its  schools  at  the  rate  of  $1,895,000  a  year.  Of  this  sum  about  $1,400,000  comes 
directly  from  the  local  communities,  and  about  half  a  million  is  contributed  by  the 
state ;  it  is  in  virtue  of  this  state  aid,  touching  every  public  school  in  every  commu- 
nity, that  the  state  is  in  position  to  exert  supervision  and  scrutiny  over  the  whole 
system.  In  the  expenditure  of  this  vast  sum  of  nearly  two  millions  of  dollars,  less  than 
eight  thousand  dollars — four  tenths  of  one  per  cent — has  been  devoted  to  supervision 
at  the  top.  A  meagre  addition  of  $7000  was  made  in  1913.  The  state  superintendent 
has  been  given  neither  the  organization,  nor  the  power,  nor  the  means  for  effective 
oversight.  It  is  a  matter  of  simple  business  judgment  that  an  organization  spending 
two  millions  of  dollars  a  year  cannot  be  run  effectively  upon  such  a  basis.  It  will  pay  a 
state  as  surely  as  it  will  pay  a  business  corporation  to  invest  in  constructive  thinking 
at  the  top,  and  the  time  has  come  when  the  indispensable  condition  for  progress  is 
the  inauguration  of  an  educational  administrative  agency  equal  to  the  task.  This  the 
state  alone  can  do. 

Of  the  $525,000  now  annually  expended  on  education  by  the  state  government, 
something  more  than  $100,000  goes  to  college  subsidies,  and  some  $20,000  to  the 
present  ineffective  normal  schools.  If  the  state  will  divert  these  two  sums  to  the  great 
problem  of  public  education  in  the  manner  suggested,  it  will  have  sufficient  means 
to  inaugurate  an  adequate  administration  and  to  develop  a  training-school  for  ele- 
mentary teachers  to  supplement  the  work  of  the  high  schools.  There  are  other  items 
of  expenditure  which  a  wise  administration  will  be  able  to  reduce.  In  a  word,  the 
state  of  Vermont  through  its  state  government  and  its  towns  is  spending  to-day 
enough  money  to  inaugurate  such  a  system  as  is  here  recommended,  if  only  these 
moneys  are  devoted  intelligently  to  that  purpose. 


PART  II 
DESCRIPTION  AND  DISCUSSION 

I.  THE  STATE  OF  VERMONT 
II.  THE  EXISTING  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 

III.  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

IV.  THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 

V.  THE  TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS 
VI.  VOCATIONAL  SCHOOLS 
VII.  RECORDS  AND  ACCOUNTS 
VIII.  THE  FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

IX.  THE  REORGANIZATION  OF  THE  AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION 
X.  THE  VERMONT  COLLEGES  AND  THEIR  RELATIONS  TO  THE  STATE 
XL  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 
XII.  MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE 

XIII.  NORWICH  UNIVERSITY 

XIV.  THE  HISTORY  OF  VERMONT  SUBSIDIES  TO  HIGHER  EDUCATION 
XV.  THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


THE  STATE  OF  VERMONT 


This  map  shores,  hythe  heavier  lines ,  the  hound- 
aries  of  the  counties;  hi/  the  lighter  imes,  the 
boundaries  of  the  tovmn.  Only  the  larger  cities 
and  the  seats  of  educational  institutions  are 
marked. 


I 

THE  STATE  OF  VERMONT 

The  state  of  Vermont  is  in  shape  a  trapezoid,  with  its  longer  dimension  north  and 
south.  The  western  side  is  the  boundary  between  Vermont  and  New  York,  the  eastern 
side  follows  the  Connecticut  River  for  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  the  north 
side,  some  ninety  miles  in  length,  is  the  boundary  line  of  Canada,  and  the  south  side, 
forty-three  miles  long,  joins  the  northwest  corner  of  Massachusetts.  Within  these 
four  approximately  straight  lines  lies  an  area  of  9564  square  miles,  a  little  more  than 
that  of  either  Massachusetts  or  Wales,  and  somewhat  less  than  that  of  Belgium,  While 
possessing  no  peaks  equal  to  those  of  the  neighboring  White  Mountains,  Vermont  is 
distinctly  mountainous,  the  mean  elevation  being  1000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  state 
is  traversed  in  its  entire  length,  a  little  to  west  of  the  centre,  by  the  Green  Mountains, 
which  have  a  crest  line  more  than  2000  feet  high,  with  several  summits  exceeding 
4000  feet.  West  of  these,  the  Taconic  Mountains  run  in  a  nearly  parallel  range  from 
the  southern  border  almost  to  the  middle  of  the  state,  rising  in  very  irregular  masses 
to  between  1500  and  2000  feet.  North  of  the  Taconic  Mountains  a  series  of  broken 
uplands  slope  down  to  the  broad,  irregular  valley  whose  bottom  is  covered  by  Lake 
Champlain,  the  water  of  which,  expanding  eventually  to  a  breadth  of  eleven  miles, 
separates  Vermont  from  New  York  for  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  Up  this  valley, 
long  the  highway  of  English  and  French  armies,  the  first  settlers  penetrated. 

The  winters  are  long  and  snowy,  the  summers  so  cool  as  to  attract  large  num- 
bers of  vacation  visitors.  The  central  mountainous  region  is  naturally  the  coldest, 
the  region  surrounding  Lake  Champlain  being  somewhat  milder  than  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut.  Eighty-five  inches  of  snow  is  the  average  annually  for  the  entire  state ; 
the  rainfall  is  abundant. 

The  soil  on  the  higher  elevations  is  stony,  but  cultivation  can  be  cai'ried  well  up 
the  mountain  slopes.  Under  cultivation,  the  land  is  highly  productive,  especially  in 
the  valleys  and  on  the  lower  hills.  Vermont  was  once  heavily  forested,  and  although 
the  white  pine  is  no  longer  commercially  important,  the  woodland  area  was  estimated 
in  1890  as  still  covering  43  per  cent  of  the  entire  state. 

The  inhabitants  of  Vermont  number,  according  to  the  federal  census  of  1910, 
355,956  persons.  This  gives  a  density  of  39  individuals  to  the  square  mile,  Vermont 
standing  exactly  midway  among  the  states  of  the  Union  in  this  respect,  and  being 
more  thinly  settled  than  any  country  of  Europe  except  Norway.  The  population  is 
almost  evenly  divided  between  the  rural  and  urban  dwellers,  if  the  federal  classifi- 
cation of  urban  localities  as  places  containing  2500  inhabitants  is  adopted.^  There 
are  no  large  cities;  Burlington,  on  Lake  Champlain,  containing  20,000  persons,  and 
nine  other  cities  and  towns  having  between  5000  and  15,000  inhabitants  each.^ 

^  Urban.  168,943  ;  rural,  187,013. 

'  Burlington,  20,468;  Rutland,  13,646;  Barre,  10,734  ;  Bennington,  8698  ;  St.  Johnsbury,  8098  ;  Montpelier,  7856  ;  Brattle- 

boro,  7641;  Colchester,  6450;  St.  Albans,  6381;  Bellows  Falls,  6207. 


I860 

315,098 

1870 

330,551 

1880 

332,286 

1890 

332,422 

1900 

343,641 

1910 

355,956 

20  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  population  by  successive  census  enumerations  is  as  follows 

1790  85,425 

1800  154,465 

1810  217,895 

1820  235,966 

1830  280,652 

1840  291,948 

1850  314,120 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  population  increased  rapidly  until  1830,  when,  with  the 
emigration  to  the  new  western  lands,  the  rate  of  increase  became  small,  until  in  1870 
Vermont  practically  attained  a  stationary  population. 

The  growth  that  has  occurred  since  1840  has  been  in  the  ten  cities  and  towns  that 
contain  over  five  thousand  population,  the  increase  between  1900  and  1910  being  for 
urban  dwellers  13.8  per  cent,  while  for  the  state  at  large  it  was  only  3.6  per  cent. 

This  difference  of  increase  has  produced  a  decided  geographical  shifting  of  pop- 
ulation within  the  state,  from  the  southern  to  the  northern  portion,  where  the  forests, 
water  power,  and  mineral  resources  afford  more  abundant  support.  At  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  ^  two  counties  on  the  Connecticut  River,  Windham  and  Windsor, 
in  which  most  of  the  early  settlements  were  made,  contained  one-third  of  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  state ;  if  to  these  two  counties  those  of  Rutland  and  Bennington 
were  added,  southern  Vermont  possessed  two-thirds  of  the  entire  population.  In  the 
twentieth  century^  this  southern  half  contained  little  more  than  a  third  of  the  state's 
population,  the  counties  of  Windham  and  Windsor  having  shrunk  to  a  sixth.  That 
is,  in  a  little  over  a  century^  the  southern  counties  have  only  doubled  in  numbers, 
while  those  north  of  them  have  increased  nearly  tenfold. 

This  shift  of  population  has  been  not  only  northward,  but  also  westward.  The 
entire  five  counties  which  touch  the  Connecticut  River,*  in  which  agriculture  pre- 
dominates, have  actually  declined  in  population.^  The  state  has  maintained  its 
numbers  through  the  development  of  manufacturing  in  the  western  counties  and  of 
the  quarrying  interest  in  those  situated  midland. 

The  phenomenon  of  a  stationary  population  in  Vermont  is  due  primarily  to  the 
extent  to  which  the  state  has  given  of  her  people  to  the  rest  of  the  Union.  By  1850 
38.6  per  cent  of  native  Vermonters  resided  in  other  states;  fifty  years  later  the  con- 
tinental United  States  contained  40.4  per  cent  of  those  born  in  Vermont  who  had 
emigrated  beyond  the  state.  The  difference  between  the  periods  lies  in  the  fact  that 
at  the  later  date  a  greatly  increased  proportion  of  the  \^ermont  emigrants  were  to 
be  found  elsewhere  in  New  England;  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
Vermonter  went  wider  afield. 

This  heavy  emigration  of  the  native  born  has  been,  of  course,  somewhat  counter- 

'  Census  of  1790.  '  Census  of  1910.  »  From  1790  to  1900. 

*  From  south  to  north  :  Windham,  Windsor,  Orange,  Caledonia,  and  Essex. 

"  From  122,798  in  1850  to  112,731  in  1910. 


THE  STATE  OF  VERMONT  21 

balanced  by  a  participation  in  the  waves  of  immigration  into  the  United  States  from 
foreign  countries,  but  in  a  smaller  degree  in  Vermont  than  in  other  states  except 
those  in  the  south.  The  census  of  1790  showed  that  98  per  cent  of  the  people  of  Ver- 
mont were  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin  ;Mn  1900  three-quarters  of  the  population  were  still 
natives  of  the  state,  and  in  1910  86  per  cent  were  natives  of  the  United  States,  a  con- 
dition showing  little  alteration  since  1850.^  The  countries  whence  the  foreign  bom 
came,  had,  however,  undergone  a  change  in  the  intervening  fifty  years.  At  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century  half  the  Vermont  residents  born  outside  of  the  Union  were 
natives  of  Ireland;  most  of  the  remainder  were  English  Canadians.  By  1900  the  Irish 
had  declined  one-half,  the  English  Canadians  had  given  place  to  French  Canadians, 
and  a  group  of  nationalities,  Italian,  Bohemian,  Slavic,  Scandinavian,  Portuguese, 
unknown  fifty  years  earlier,  were  appreciably  represented.  Vermont,  however,  remains 
to-day  overwhelmingly  an  indigenous  community  of  English-speaking  people. 

Partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  when  the  native  of  Vermont  leaves  his  state  he  does 
so  in  early  youth,  and  partly  owing  to  the  curious  tendency  of  a  stationary  group 
of  any  kind  to  show  an  increasing  average  age,  the  state  shows  an  interesting  advance 
in  the  age  of  the  population.  In  1850  out  of  every  thousand  inhabitants  there  were  164 
persons  above  fifty  years  old;  in  1900  there  were  272.  At  the  end  of  the  half  century 
only  345  more  persons  could  be  found  in  the  state  under  fifty  than  were  there  at 
the  beginning;  the  entire  increase  in  population  in  that  length  of  time  had  taken 
place  among  individuals  above  middle  age.  Had  the  same  thing  held  true  for  the  en- 
tire country,  the  census  of  1910  would  have  shown  that  the  United  States  contained, 
instead  of  ten  million  persons  over  fifty  years  old,  sixteen  millions  who  had  passed 
that  point.  The  emigration  from  Vermont  must  have  been  largely  a  family  emi- 
gration, or  latterly  comprising  many  young  women  going  to  large  cities  to  earn 
a  living,  for  the  census  of  1910  showed  the  population  still  about  equally  divided 
between  the  sexes. 

While  during  the  last  half  century  the  other  New  England  states  have  been 
changing  rapidly  into  industrial  communities,  Vermont  still  remains  predominantly 
agricultural,  more  of  her  population  deriving  their  support  from  agriculture  than 
from  any  other  general  occupation,^  there  being  ninety-two  farms  to  every  one  thou- 
sand inhabitants  and  409  farms  to  every  thousand  families.*  The  average  acreage 
of  the  Vermont  farms  is  142f  acres,  and  seven-eighths  of  them  are  operated  by  their 
owners  directly  or  through  managers ;  only  one-seventh  are  let  out  to  tenants.^ 

^  81,200  being  of  English  and  2600  of  Scotch  descent. 

'  In  1860  10  per  cent  were  foreijrn  born  as  against  13  per  cent  in  1900.  The  1910  figures  for  this  and  a  number  of  the 
following  topics  are  not  yet  available. 

'  The  statistics  for  1900  were:  agriculture,  49,820;  manufacturing,  .S6,180;  trade  and  transportation,  18,889;  profes- 
sional service,  7016.  Manufacturing  had  38,580  in  1909. 

*  In  Iowa,  generally  recognized  as  decidedly  an  agricultural  community,  in  1900,  there  were  475  farms  for  every 
one  thousand  inhabitants.  Iowa  was  the  one  state  in  the  Union  which  by  the  census  of  1910  showed  a  decrease  in 
population. 
<>  The  1910  statistics  are:  acres  of  farm  land,  4,663,677:  improved  acreage,  1,633,695:  number  of  farms.  32,709:  num- 


22  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

For  more  than  half  of  the  farms  ^  the  principal  source  of  income  is  dairying,  the 
value  of  the  dairy  industry  reaching  in  1909  to  $11,501,577  a  year,  making  it  the 
largest  single  industry  in  Vermont.  On  about  one-sixth  of  the  farms"  live  stock  is 
the  principal  source  of  income,  and  on  one- thirteenth  of  them ^  the  proceeds  from 
the  sale  of  hay  and  grain.  The  cereal  crop  is  of  secondary  importance,  the  largest 
single  cereal  crop  being  oats,  which  in  1910  amounted  to  2,141,357  bushels.* 

Textile  manufactures  were  introduced  into  Vermont  later  than  in  the  rest  of  New 
England,  and  still  are  surpassed  in  importance  by  those  manufacturing  interests 
connected  with  the  lumber  industrv,  although  the  relative  position  of  the  two  kinds  of 
manufacturing  shows  signs  of  a  future  reversal,  as  the  yield  of  the  Vermont  forests 
decreases,  and  as  the  excellent  water  power  that  exists  in  many  localities  throughout 
the  state-is  utilized.  In  1909  the  value  of  the  textile  product  was  more  than  S6,250,000, 
and  the  value  of  the  lumber  industries,  including  that  of  paper-making  and  wood- 
pulp,  was  $12,800,000.5 

A  considerable  proportion  of  the  wealth  of  Vermont  is  due  to  mines,  whose  prod- 
ucts in  1911  sold  for  $8,434,576.  The  largest  item  in  this  budget  is  that  derived 
from  the  quaiTies  of  the  Taconic  Mountains,  whose  marbles,  ranging  from  Carrara 
white  to  various  shades  of  blue,  green,  yellow,  and  pink,  gleam  from  the  walls  of 
most  public  structures  in  the  United  States,  Vermont  in  1908  supplying  more  mar- 
bles than  all  other  states  combined,  or  even  than  Italy  itself.  The  value  in  1911  of 
the  marble  was  $3,349,930  ;*'  of  the  Vermont  granite,  upon  which  the  city  of  Barre 
is  entirely  dependent,  $2,730,719;  and  of  the  slate  production,  $1,624,941. 

The  state  possesses  much  accumulated  wealth.  In  few  communities  is  the  general 
body  of  citizens  so  free  from  want. 

Vermont  is  well  supplied  with  railroad  transportation,  the  Boston  and  Maine  sys- 
tem paralleling  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  River  and  the  New  York  Central  system 
running  up  the  western  section  to  the  Canadian  line,  while  both  of  these  systems  and 
the  Central  Vermont  and  the  Grand  Trunk  of  Canada  run  east  and  west  through  the 
mountains.  Vermont  thus  has  outlets  for  its  products  through  New  York,  Boston, 
and  Portland,  and  through  St.  John  and  Montreal.  During  seven  months  of  each 
vear  there  is  also  con)munication  by  water.  Lake  Champlain  being  connected  bv  the 
Champlain  Canal  with  the  Hudson  and  by  the  Chambly  Canal  with  the  St.  Law- 
rence. Within  the  last  few  years  the  public  highways  of  the  state  have  been  greatly 
improved  under  a  policy  of  state  appropriation  combined  with  local  taxation. 

ber  operated  by  owners  or  managers,  28,701;  number  operated  by  tenants,  4008.  The  detailed  figures  for  1910  for  acre- 
age per  farm  were  : 

over  500  acres  607  farms  between  50  and  100  acres  5,910  farms 

between  175  and  500  acres  8,516  farms  between  20  and  50  acres  3,481  farms 

between  100  and  176  acres  9,492  farms  less  than  20  acres  4,678  farms 

M6,354.  '5461.  *  2516.  *  Produced  on  71,510  acres,  and  valued  at  $1,169,223. 

°  Distributed  as  follows:  lumber  and  timber  products,  $8,598,000  ;  paper-making  and  wood-pulp,  centralized  around 

Bellows  Falls,  $.3,902,000. 

^  The  marble  product  of  the  rest  of  the  Union  for  1908  was  $3,053,900;  of  Italy,  18,926,239  lire  =  $;s,761,248. 


THE  STATE  OF  VERMONT  23 

The  advance  of  settlement  from  the  coast  of  New  England  to  the  Vermont  moun- 
tains was  so  arduous  that  it  took  one  hundred  years,  and  the  country  filled  slowly, 
as,  until  the  conquest  of  Canada  laid  the  fear  of  Frencii  and  Indian  invasions,  only 
the  most  hardy  w(juld  venture  into  what  was  the  colonies'  most  exposed  frontier.  As 
settlements  multiplied,  the  pioneers  were  forced  to  maintain  a  contest  for  local  inde- 
pendence, first  with  Massachusetts,  then  with  New  Hampshire,  and  finally  with  New 
York.  Although  capturing  Ticonderoga  and  driving  out  the  English  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  opposition  of  New  York  prevented  Vei*mont  from 
being  recognized  by  the  Continental  Congress,  and  from  the  end  of  the  war  until  the 
organization  of  the  present  federal  government,  Vermont  acted  as  an  independent 
republic  outside  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Congress  and  preparing  to  resist  New  York's 
claims  by  force.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  Washington's  administration  was  to  induce 
New  York  to  relinquish  its  claims,  and  as  soon  as  this  renunciation  was  secured,  Con- 
gress made  the  first  addition  to  the  original  thirteen  states  by  admitting  Vermont 
as  a  member  of  the  Union  in  1791. 

Vermont  troops  took  part  in  the  military  operations  upon  the  Canadian  border 
during  the  War  of  1812,  and  as  large  a  proportion  of  the  population  enlisted  in  the 
Civil  War  as  in  any  northern  state.  The  strength  of  the  state  in  presidential  contests 
and  in  Congress,  generally  on  the  conservative  side  in  the  early  elections,  was  thrown 
uninterruptedly  with  the  Whigs  from  1 832  until  the  disappearance  of  their  party, 
and  since  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party  has  been  continuously  upon  its  side. 

The  conspicuous  feature  in  the  government  of  Vermont  is  that  the  lower  house  of 
the  legislature  is  composed  of  one  member  from  each  town  and  city,  of  which  there 
are  246,  the  town  of  the  city  of  Burlington,  with  a  population  of  over  twenty  thou- 
sand, having  the  same  representation  as  the  town  of  Somerset,  with  twenty-seven. 
Connecticut  is  the  only  other  state  which  approaches  this  equal  territorial  represen- 
tation in  the  lower  house,  although  New  Jersey  and  Maryland  use  a  similar  basis 
for  constituting  the  senate.  The  senate,  composed  of  thirty  members,  is  elected  by 
counties  in  proportion  to  population,  each  county,  however,  being  entitled  to  at 
least  one  senator. 

The  executive  authority  is  vested  solely  in  the  governor,  who  has  the  power  of  nega- 
tive on  all  legislation,  but  may  be  overruled  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  members 
present  in  each  house;  he  also  possesses  a  limited  power  of  appointment  and  has  exclu- 
sive power  of  pardon.  The  term  of  the  governorship  is  two  years,  and  unless  a  can- 
didate receives  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  by  the  people,  the  election  is  made 
by  the  legislature  in  joint  session.  Several  other  administrative  officials  are  elected  in 
the  first  instance  in  joint  session. 

The  judicial  authority  is  vested  in  a  supreme  court  of  five  justices,  in  county  courts 
composed  of  a  presiding  judge  (a  superior  judge,  of  whom  there  are  seven)  and  two 
assistant  judges,  in  a  court  of  chancery,  and  in  inferior  municipal  and  justice  courts. 
Justices  of  the  supreme  court  and  the  superior  judges  are  elected  biennially  by  the 


24  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

legislature  in  joint  session.  Assistant  judges  of  the  county  courts  and  justices  of  the 
peace  are  elected  biennially  by  the  freemen  of  their  respective  counties.  Judges  of  the 
municipal  courts  are  appointed  by  the  governor.  The  superior  judges  are  also  chan- 
cellors of  the  court  of  chancery. 

This  distribution  of  the  powers  of  government  is  made  by  the  constitution  of 
1793,  which  has,  however,  received  thirty-three  amendments,  the  first  in  1828  and 
the  last  in  1913.  At  the  fifth  biennial  session  of  the  General  Assembly  following  that 
of  1910,  and  at  the  session  thereof  every  tenth  year  thereafter,  the  senate  may,  by 
a  two-thirds  vote,  make  proposals  of  amendment  to  the  constitution,  which  propos- 
als, if  concurred  in  by  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
are  submitted  to  the  ensuing  legislature.  If  each  house  again  approves,  the  proposed 
amendment  is  submitted  to  the  people,  and  a  majority  vote  in  its  favor  makes  it 
a  part  of  the  constitution. 

The  unit  of  local  government,  as  well  as  of  representation  in  the  lower  branch  of 
the  legislature,  is  the  town.^  The  town  is  governed  by  a  board  of  selectmen;  the  more 
important  administrative  officials  are  a  clerk,  a  treasurer,  a  board  of  listers,  one  or 
two  road  commissioners,  and  a  board  of  school  directors.  Although  villages  may  be- 
come public  corporations  under  the  general  law,  yet  more  generally  it  has  been  by 
special  act  of  the  legislature.^  The  more  important  officials  of  a  village  are  a  board 
of  trustees,  a  clerk,  a  treasurer,  and  a  collector  of  taxes. 

The  county,^  so  important  in  the  local  administration  of  states  outside  of  NewEng- 
land,  is  hardly  more  than  a  geographical  expression  in  Vermont  except  in  judicial 
matters.  It  merely  groups  the  electorate  for  senatorial  elections  and  the  election  of 
officials  concerned  with  the  administration  of  justice — the  sheriff",  the  prosecuting 
attorney,  and  the  assistant  judges.  The  assistant  judges  appoint  the  county  treasurer, 
and  exercise  the  meagre  county  jurisdiction  that  exists. 

Vermont  has  practically  no  debt  except  the  outstanding  bonds  representing  the 
$135,000  received  from  the  federal  government  in  1862  for  the  support  of  an  agri- 
cultural college  and  the  Huntington  (school)  Fund  of  $211,000.  The  total  expendi- 
ture of  the  treasury  of  Vermont  in  the  fiscal  year  1911-12  was  $2,350,508.  The  total 
income  was  $2,303,754,  the  deficit  being  supplied  from  the  balance  in  the  treasury, 
which  at  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year  stood  at  $566,141. 

The  salient  facts  concerning  the  commonwealth  thus  briefly  brought  together  show- 
in  outline  a  state  with  no  large  cities,  whose  chief  industry  is  agriculture,  with  the 
probability  that  an  increasing  development  in  manufacture  may  be  anticipated.  It 
is  a  community  overwhelmingly  Anglo-Saxon  in  its  origin  and  characteristics,  and 
the  problems  of  education  with  which  it  has  to  deal  are  those  of  a  large  rural  agri- 
cultural and  a  small  urban  population,  closely  related. 


*  There  are  also  6  cities,  3  unorganized  townships,  4  gores,  and  1  grant. 

*  There  are  56  villages.  '  There  are  14  counties. 


II 

THE  EXISTING  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 

This  section  considers:  (1)  the  number  and  nature  of  the  various  educational  agen- 
cies in  the  state;  (2)  their  general  administration  and  (3)  supervision;  (4)  school 
privileges  and  attendance ;  (5)  the  teaching  staff;  and,  finally,  (6)  the  finances  of  the 
whole.  It  is  based  upon  whatever  statistical  information  is  available  in  print,  cor- 
rected and  supplemented  by  the  enquiries  of  the  commission  and  the  knowledge  of 
the  members  of  the  enquiry  staff.  Section  VII  of  Part  II  deals  with  the  characteris- 
tics of  present  reports. 

1.  The  Schools 

The  existing  educational  system  includes  tax-supported  elementary  and  secondary 
schools,  approved  academies  receiving  public  support  as  secondary  schools,  schools 
for  special  purposes,  schools  for  special  classes,  higher  and  professional  institutions, 
and  certain  supplementary  educational  activities. 

In  1912  there  were  about  2400  public  elementary  schools,^  of  which  more  than  half 
were  one-room,  chiefly  rural,  schools.  Only  979,  or  about  two-fifths,  of  these  elemen- 
tary schools  were  graded.  The  superintendent  of  education  reports  the  existence  of 
fourteen  public  kindergartens. 

As  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained  from  the  reports  of  the  state  superintendent  of 
education,  the  number  of  children  attending  the  public  elementary  schools  is  about 
57,000,  divided  almost  equally  between  boys  and  girls.^ 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  schools  had,  during  the  last  term  of  school  of  1912,  less 
than  eight  pupils,  522  from  eight  to  fifteen  pupils,  743  from  sixteen  to  twenty-five 
pupils,  and  946  more  than  twenty-five  pupils. 

There  were  in  the  state  in  1912,  according  to  the  state  school  census,  46,333  chil- 
dren between  eight  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  inclusive,  the  period  of  compulsory  school 
attendance;  of  these,  43,119  children  (93  per  cent)  were  reported  in  attendance  upon 
schools. 

*  The  report  of  the  state  superintendent  of  education  gives  2461  public  schools,  which  apparently  include  from  77  to 
80  high  schools.  The  word  "school"  in  Vermont  does  not  mean  "schoolhouse,"  but  ordinarily  means  "school-room," 
Vermont's  legal  definition  of  a  school  being  (No.  76,  Acts  of  1912):  "The  term  'legal  school'  shall  apply  to  any  public 
school  maintained  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  days,  including  holidays  and  others  allowed  by  law,  during  any 
school  year,  unless  it  has  been  impracticable  to  maintain  the  same  such  number  of  days  on  account  of  the  closing 
of  said  school  by  the  local  health  officer  because  of  an  epidemic,  and  in  which  the  average  attendance  during  ses- 
sions thereof  was  not  less  than  six,  and  which  was  taught  by  a  duly  qualified  and  legally  certified  teacher,  and  the 
register  of  which  was  kept  and  returned  according  to  law. 

"The  term  'rural  school'  shall  apply,  in  the  distribution  of  school  funds,  to  any  school  in  a  separate  building  and 
which  furnishes  instruction  in  no  less  than  six  of  the  nine  years  of  the  course  prescribed  for  elementary  schools,  or 
to  any  school  of  a  system  of  not  more  than  three  schools  which  together  provide  instruction  covering  the  nine  years 
of  such  prescribed  course."  In  1912  there  were  2397  such  legal  schools. 

*  The  superintendent  reports  64,518  pupils  in  the  public  schools,  —  32,624  boys  and  31,194  girls.  This  last  figure  should 
be  31,994.  This  total  probably  includes  the  pupils  in  the  secondary  schools,  variously  given  as  6653  or  6496  in  the  high 
schools,  andl421  in  the  academies.  These  discrepancies  are  characteristic  of  the  superintendent's  reports ;  the  returns 
to  his  office  are  frequently  inaccurate,  and  his  staff  is  too  small  to  ensure  accuracy  or  to  make  special  enquiries. 


26  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

In  1912  there  were  seventy-four  approved  high  schools  and  eighteen  approved 
academies.  While  the  recorded  statistics  vary  somewhat,  it  appears  that,  for  the  year 
1911-12,  5496  pupils  were  in  attendance  upon  the  approved  high  schools  (1942  first 
year  pupils,  1414  second  year  pupils,  1105  third  year  pupils,  919  fourth  year  pupils, 
and  71  graduate  pupils).^  During  1911-12,  1633  academic  pupils  attended  the  ap- 
proved academies.  Of  this  number  1421  resided  in  Vermont.  Tiie  town  clerks  reported 
the  payment  by  the  tow]is  of  1272  high  school  and  960  academy  tuitions.^ 

A  State  School  of  Agriculture,  a  school  of  secondary  instruction,  is  located  at  Ran- 
dolph Centre.  It  was  established  by  the  legislature  in  1910,  taking  the  place  of  the 
Randolph  State  Normal  School,  which  was  discontinued  in  that  year.  The  school  offers 
a  one-year  course,  a  two-year  course,  a  short  winter  course,  and  special  courses  in  agri- 
culture. During  1911-12,  fifty-six  young  men  were  in  attendance;  during  1912-13, 
eighty-three. 

A  second  school  of  this  type  was  authorized  by  the  legislature  of  1912  to  be 
located  in  Addison  or  Rutland  County,  as  approved  by  the  governor  and  the  edu- 
cational coin  mission. 

Since  1910  classes  for  the  training  of  elementary  school  teachers  have  been  con- 
ducted in  connection  with  high  schools.  There  were  12  such  training-classes  in  1911-12 
and  14  in  1912-13,  the  latter  enrolling  152  students. 

The  state  maintains  two  state  normal  schools,  one  at  Castleton  enrolling  87  stu- 
dents in  1911-12,  and  one  at  Johnson  enrolling  56  students  in  that  year.  Previous 
to  1910  a  normal  school  was  maintained  at  Randolph  also. 

There  are  four  chartered  higher  institutions — the  University  of  Vermont  and  State 
Agricultural  College,  located  at  Burlington,  Middlebury  College  at  Middlebury,  Nor- 
wich University  at  Northfield,  and  St,  Michael's  College  at  Burlington.  Strictly  speak- 
ing, no  one  of  these  institutions  belongs  to  the  state  public  school  system,  each  being 
under  an  independent  board  of  trustees.  The  first  three  institutions  receive  annual 
grants  from  the  state  treasury.  In  these  three  institutions  there  were  for  the  year 
1912-13, 1013  students. 

A  State  Industrial  School,  to  which  delinquent  boys  and  girls  are  committed, 
has  been  maintained  at  Vergennes  since  1865.  This  school  is  under  the  control  of  the 
Board  of  Penal  Institutions.  On  July  1, 1912,  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  school  was 
145  boys  and  62  girls.  The  total  number  of  commitments  to  the  institution  since 
its  organization  have  been  2000  boys  and  351  girls,  a  total  of  2351.^ 

The  state  has  no  special  institution  for  the  education  of  defectives.  The  governor, 
by  virtue  of  his  office,  is  commissioner  of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  blind,  idiotic,  feeble- 
minded, and  epileptic  children  of  indigent  parents,  and  as  such  commissioner  is  charged 

'  The  total  5496  does  not  correspond  with  the  sum  of  the  pupils  by  years,  5451;  or  by  courses,  6287. 

^  The  principals  reported  1055  and  718,  respectively. 

*  It  is  recommended  in  Section  IX  that  the  control  of  the  State  Industrial  School  be  transferred  from  the  Board  of 

Penal  Institutions  to  the  State  Board  of  Education. 


THE  EXISTING  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  27 

with  their  instruction.  The  state  appropriates  $30,000  annually  for  the  benefit  of  these 
children.  They  are  instructed  mostly  in  institutions  in  neighboring  states.  The  legis- 
lature of  1912  created  a  state  school  for  feeble-minded  children,  and  appropriated 
$25,000  for  this  purpose.  The  same  legislature  appropriated  $25,000  to  the  Austine 
Institution,  a  private  corporation  for  the  care  and  education  of  defective  and  unfor- 
tunate children,  which  had  received  $50,000  from  the  state  in  1911. 

The  principal  supplementary  educational  activity  is  that  under  the  direction  of  the 
State  Board  of  Library  Commissioners,  which  serves  in  an  advisory  capacity  to  local 
libraries,  holds  schools  of  instruction  for  librarians,  and  has  general  supervision  of 
the  state  aid  granted  to  local  libraries.  This  board  also  has  charge  of  the  traveling 
libraries. 

2.  General  Administration 

There  is  no  central  educational  administration  that  touches  all  of  these  educa- 
tional agencies.  The  tax-supported  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  while  con- 
ducted by  the  towns,  receive  nevertheless  some  appropriation  from  the  state,  so  that 
the  state  superintendent  of  education  has  a  certain  power  of  scrutiny  and  super- 
vision. The  administration  of  the  normal  schools  and  of  the  higher  institutions  is 
practically  independent  in  each  case,  so  that  there  is  nowhere  in  the  state  system 
of  education  any  administrative  body  or  set  of  officers  whose  business  it  is  to  deal 
with  these  institutions  as  a  whole.  In  the  absence  of  such  administrative  oversight 
the  studies  and  the  conditions  of  admission  prescribed  by  the  colleges  have  been  the 
strongest  single  factor  in  determining  what  should  be  studied  not  only  by  those  who 
expect  to  go  to  college,  but  by  the  great  body  of  students  in  the  elementary  and 
secondary  schools. 

The  governmental  unit  of  Vermont  being  the  town,  the  chief  governmental  agen- 
cies for  the  control  of  public  elementary  and  secondary  schools  are  town  officials.  Each 
town  constitutes  a  district  for  school  purposes,  and  has  a  board  of  directors  consist- 
ing of  three  citizens  of  the  town,  one  of  whom  is  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years 
at  each  annual  meeting  of  the  town.  The  board  elects  one  of  its  members  as  chair- 
man and  appoints  a  clerk.  The  duties  of  the  board  include  the  general  management 
of  the  schools,  —  care  of  the  school  property  of  the  town,  the  determination  of 
the  number  and  the  location  of  the  schools,  the  suitable  repair  and  insurance  of  the 
schoolhouses,  the  employment  of  teachers  and  the  fixing  of  their  compensation,  the 
examination  and  allowances  of  claims  arising  therefrom,  and  the  drawing  of  orders 
on  the  town  treasurer  in  pavment  thereof.  They  also  have  authority  to  designate  the 
schools  that  the  various  pupils  shall  attend,  and  make  regulations  not  inconsistent 
with  the  law  for  carrying  into  effect  the  powers  granted  them.  They  are  required 
to  furnish  an  estimate  to  the  town  meeting  of  the  amount  of  money  required  for 
the  use  of  the  schools  and  to  make  an  annual  report  to  the  towns.  The  compensation 
of  the  directors  is  such  sum  as  the  town  votes  for  the  time  they  actually  spend  in 


28  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

the  performance  of  their  duties.  The  usual  amount  is  two  dollars  per  day  or  fraction 
thereof. 

While  the  town  is  the  typical  school  administrative  unit,  one  interesting  exception 
should  be  noticed.  The  town  system  became  optional  in  1870  and  mandatory  in  1892. 
In  the  interval  many  of  the  towns  changed  from  the  old  district  system  to  the  town 
system  of  control.  At  first,  however,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  reports  of  town  su- 
perintendents, there  was  considerable  suspicion  of  the  system.  This  was  particularly 
true  of  the  larger  centres  of  population — places  that  had  developed  under  the  dis- 
trict system  comparatively  strong  graded  school  systems,  and  now  feared  that  under 
the  new  system  they  would  be  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  rest  of  the  schools  in  the 
town  at  the  expense  of  weakening  their  own  schools  or  of  increasing  their  taxes  un- 
duly. They  feared  also  that  they  might  lose  direct  control  of  their  own  school  affairs. 
A  protection  against  these  supposed  dangers  was  found  in  incoi'porating  these  centres 
by  special  acts  of  the  legislature,  as  distinct  special  districts  for  school  purposes.  There 
are  at  present  thirty  of  these  incorporated  districts  in  the  state.  They  have  their  own 
boards  of  directors,  support  their  schools  on  taxation  of  the  property  within  their 
corporate  limits,  receive  a  portion  of  the  public  money  that  would  otherwise  go  to  the 
towns  in  which  they  are  located,  and  deal  with  the  town  in  the  matter  of  tuition  of  ad- 
vanced pupils,  just  as  one  town  deals  with  another.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that 
the  fears  which  led  to  such  separate  incorporation  were  well  founded.  Almost  without 
exception  the  incorporated  districts  would  improve  their  school  income  and  attendance 
by  a  recombination  with  their  towns.  The  towns,  on  the  other  hand,  would  profit  by 
improved  school  facilities.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  towns  in  which  these 
incorporated  districts  now  exist  would  be  more  backward  than  other  towns  in  interest 
and  pride  in  an  efficient  central  school. 

The  local  educational  officer,  the  town  superintendent  of  schools,  is  appointed  an- 
nually by  the  board  of  school  directors  at  a  compensation  determined  by  them.  In 
case  towns  form  a  union,  the  local  educational  officer  is  the  union  superintendent, 
who  is  elected,  and  whose  salary  is  fixed,  by  a  committee  composed  of  the  school  direc- 
tors of  the  towns  forming  the  union.  The  formal  duties  of  the  superintendent  are 
to  visit  the  schools  of  the  town  at  least  once  each  term,  and  oftener  if  the  board  of 
school  directors  or  the  joint  committee  so  orders,  to  note  the  method  of  instruction 
and  government,  to  inform  himself  of  the  progress  of  pupils,  and  to  give  necessary 
advice  to  teachers.  The  superintendent  also  has  power  to  dismiss  incompetent  or 
unfit  teachers. 

Provision  has  existed  since  1906  for  the  union  of  towns  for  supervision.  In  such 
cases  of  union,  the  state  grants  a  stipulated  portion  of  the  salary  paid  the  superin- 
tendents. The  qualifications  of  union  superintendents  are  also  defined  by  law,  and 
their  appointment  is  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  state  board  of  education. 

The  chief  administrative  agency  for  the  state  school  system  is  the  state  board  of 


THE  EXISTING  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  29 

education,  created  by  the  legislature  of  1912.  This  board  will  hereafter  appoint  the 
superintendent  of  education,  who  has  hitherto  been  elected  by  the  legislature. 

The  state  board  of  education,  composed  of  five  members  appointed  by  the  governor 
and  the  senate  for  a  term  of  six  years,  is  given  general  powers  and  duties  with  regard 
to  the  educational  system  of  the  state,  particularly  with  regard  to  normal  schools, 
which  are  entirely  under  its  charge ;  to  colleges  and  universities  as  to  expenditures  of 
state  appropriations;  to  high  schools  as  to  classification  and  standard,  qualifications 
of  teachers,  courses  of  instruction,  and  so  on.  This  board  also  has  general  control  of 
union  superintendents. 

The  superintendent  of  education  is  the  executive  officer  of  the  board  of  education, 
and  has  supervision  over  all  of  the  educational  work  in  the  state  with  the  special  ex- 
ceptions noted  for  the  board  of  education.  He  makes  formal  reports  to  the  board  with 
recommendations  for  improving  educational  conditions,  disburses  the  funds  appropri- 
ated for  summer  schools,  educational  meetings,  and  agricultural  instruction ;  examines 
and  certifies  teachers,  etc. 

Each  of  the  several  special  and  higher  institutions  of  education  has  its  own  board 
of  control.  The  constitution  and  powers  of  these  boards  are  discussed  in  later  sections. 


3.  Supervision 

The  superintendent  of  education  is  the  chief  supervisory  officer  of  the  educational 
system;  the  immediate  supervision  of  local  schools  is  carried  on  by  town  and  union 
school  superintendents.  On  August  1, 1912,  there  were  55  supervisory  unions  and  two 
special  school  districts  under  superintendents  (55  men  and  2  women).  Sixteen  of  these 
superintendents  assumed  their  present  positions  during  1912,  four  during  1911,  nine 
during  1910,  ten  during  1909,  two  during  1908,  ten  during  1907,  and  four  previous  to 
1907  (two  records  missing).  Their  annual  salaries  vary  from  less  than  $1250  to  more 
than  $2500;  one-third  receiving  from  $1250  to  $1500  and  slightly  more  than  one- 
third  receiving  from  $1500  to  $1750.^ 

As  a  group  these  superintendents  are  young  men  and  women,  38  out  of  the  55  be- 
ing below  forty  years  of  age.  With  half  a  dozen  exceptions,  all  of  the  superintendents 
have  had  the  equivalent  of  a  three  or  four  year  high  school  education ;  fourteen  have 
had  one  or  two  years  of  normal  school  training;  thirty-six  are  college  graduates,  and 
ten  others  have  had  one  or  two  years  of  college  study.  Practically  all  have  had  a  teach- 
ing experience  of  from  one  to  five  years  in  rural  schools  and  a  somewhat  longer  expe- 
rience in  high  schools,  but  practically  all  of  them  began  their  work  as  superintendents 
without  previous  supervisory  experience.  In  the  majority  of  instances  they  transferred 
directly  from  a  secondary  school  position. 


1  InformatioD  from  commission's  enquiry  ;  for  details,  see  Part  III. 


30  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

4.  School  Privileges  and  Attendance 

The  public  elementary  schools  of  the  state  have  been  free  since  1867.  Since  1894 
the  state  has  sought  to  equalize  the  privileges  of  education  by  providing  aid  for 
the  transportation  and  board  of  pupils. 

Each  town  is  legally  obliged  to  maintain  a  high  school  or  to  furnish  higher  (sec- 
ondary) instruction  for  its  advanced  pupils,  by  arranging  for  the  instruction  of  such 
advanced  pupils  in  the  high  school  of  an  incorporated  district,  or  an  academy  within 
the  to^^^l,  or  in  the  high  schools  or  academies  of  other  towns  within  or  without  the 
state. 

Children  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  fifteen  years,  inclusive,  are  subject  to  the 
compulsory  attendance  law.  The  annual  period  of  required  attendance  is  one  hundred 
and  fifty  days,  including  legal  and  other  holidays.  Children  under  sixteen  years  of  age 
who  have  not  completed  the  course  of  study  of  nine  years  prepared  for  the  elementary 
schools  by  the  superintendent  of  education  may  not  be  employed  in  any  work  con- 
nected with  railroading,  mining,  manufacturing,  or  quarrying,  or  be  employed  in  any 
hotel  or  bowling  alley  or  in  delivering  messages,  except  during  vacations  or  before 
and  after  school  hours.  No  child  under  fourteen  years  of  age  may  be  employed  by  any 
railroad  company  or  in  connection  with  any  mill,  factory,  quarry,  or  workshop  where 
more  than  ten  persons  are  employed.  No  child  under  the  age  of  twelve  is  permitted  to 
be  employed  in  or  about  or  in  connection  with  any  mill,  factory,  quarry,  workshop,  or 
in  delivering  messages  for  any  corporation  or  company,  or  in  any  mercantile  establish- 
ment, store,  business  office,  restaurant,  bakery,  or  hotel. 

Pupils  in  elementary  schools  are  provided,  at  the  expense  of  the  town,  with  all 
appliances,  supplies,  and  text-books.  Towns  may  provide  free  text-books  for  second- 
ary schools. 

5.  The  Teaching  Staff:  Training,  Cektification,  Experience,  and  Salaries^ 
The  situation  for  the  teaching  staffs  of  the  public  schools  of  the  state  is  exhibited, 
as  to  its  larger  aspects,  by  comparative  tables  in  Part  III  and  the  following  general 
statistics  taken  from  the  report  of  the  superintendent  of  education  for  1912: 

The  Number  and  Training  of  Elementary  and  Secondary  Teachers 

in  Vermont  Public  Schools  in  1912 

Number  of  men  teachers  256 

Number  of  women  teachers  2,735 

Total  number  of  different  teachers  2,991 

Number  of  teachers  who  are  graduates  of  Vermont  normal  schools  661 

Number  of  teachers  not  graduated,  who  have  attended  state  normal  schools  l64 

^  The  principal  data  contained  in  this  section  are  based  upon  the  special  information  furnished  by  teachers  in  ser- 
vice, April,  1913,  at  the  request  of  the  educational  commission. 


THE  EXISTING  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  31 

Number  of  teachers  who  are  graduates  of  normal  schools  of  other  states  133 

Number  of  teachers  who  are  graduates  of  colleges  245 

Number  of  teachers  who  are  graduates  of  high  schools  and  academies  IjQ^T 
Number  of  teachers  not  graduates,  who  have  attended  college,  high  schools, 

or  academies  568 

.  Since  1908  the  examination  and  certification  of  teachers  have  been  under  the  direct 
control  of  the  superintendent  of  education.  Under  him  town  and  union  superin- 
tendents conduct  teachers'  examinations  and  rate  applicants  for  teachers'  certificates. 
The  minimum  age  for  certification  is  seventeen  years. 

The  existing  system  provides  for  several  grades  of  limited  certificates. 

(a)  First  Grade.  Granted  for  five  years,  or  as  long  as  the  holder  is  employed  con- 
tinuously in  the  same  town,  and  requiring  forty  weeks  of  experience  in  addi- 
tion to  passing  the  stated  examination.  Issued  without  examination  to  college 
graduates  and  graduates  of  normal  schools  in  other  states. 

(b)  Second  Grade.  Granted  for  two  years,  or  as  long  as  the  holder  is  employed 
continuously  in  the  same  town,  and  requiring  twelve  weeks  of  experience  in  addi- 
tion to  passing  the  stated  examination. 

(f)  Third  Grade.  Granted  for  a  specified  time,  not  exceeding  one  year,  to  those 
who  pass  a  satisfactory  examination.  Third  grade  certificates  may  not  be  re- 
newed more  than  once. 

(d)  Special.  Issued  by  the  superintendent  of  education,  without  examination,  to 
trained  and  experienced  teachers  of  such  special  high  school  subjects  as  music, 
drawing,  physical  culture,  industrial  arts  and  sciences. 

(e)  Special  Third  Grade.  Valid  for  one  year;  issued  without  examination  to 
teachers  with  fifty  weeks  of  experience,  or  to  teachers  with  experience  (twenty 
weeks)  who  have  held  a  second  grade  certificate  or  its  equivalent. 

Graduates  of  the  high  school  training-classes,  if  previously  holders  of  diplomas,  and 
of  the  lower  course  in  the  normal  schools  are  given  five-year  certificates;  seniors  in 
training-classes  are  given  four-year  certificates ;  and  graduates  of  the  higher  course 
are  given  certificates  for  ten  years.  Each  of  these  is  renewable  for  a  like  period.  Un- 
limited or  life  certificates  are  provided  for  teachers  with  specified  experience  and  for 
experienced  graduates  of  colleges  or  normal  schools;  certificates  valid  for  five  years 
are  granted  to  teachers  in  primary  grades  and  in  the  kindergarten.  These  may  also 
be  issued  by  the  superintendent  of  education  without  examination  to  teachers  with 
defined  training  and  experience. 

The  superintendent  of  education  is  authorized  by  law  to  issue  permits  to  teach  in 
a  particular  school  for  a  term  not  exceeding  twelve  weeks,  on  the  basis  of  private  exam- 
inations conducted  by  town  superintendents.  A  second  permit  may  not  be  issued  to 
a  teacher. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  the  various  kinds  of  certificates  held  by 
teachers  in  the  public  schools  for  1912: 


32  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Kind  of  Certificates  No.  of  Teachers  Holding  Kind  of  Certificates  No.  of  Teachers  Holding 
Permit                                              45                                          1st  513 

Special  15  2d  953 

Life  and  Normal  210  3d  4,43 

According  to  information  concerning  the  teaching  staff  of  the  Vermont  public 
schools  furnished  to  the  educational  commission  during  April,  1913,  the  teachers 
vary  in  age  from  sixteen  to  seventy  years.  Thirty-five  are  under  eighteen  and  forty- 
eight  over  fifty.  One-fifth  are  nineteen  or  less  and  about  one-fifth  thirty-one  or  more, 
the  remainder,  rather  more  than  one-half  of  the  whole  number,  being  from  twenty 
to  thirty.^  The  teaching  experience  of  both  city  and  rural  teachers  varies  from  one- 
third  of  a  year  to  twenty-nine  years,  but  while  the  majority  of  the  city  teachers  have 
had  from  four  to  fourteen  years,  the  majority  of  the  rural  teachers  have  had  only 
half  as  much,  —  from  two  to  seven  years.^  About  one-fourth  of  the  city  teachers  receive 
less  than  $400  a  year  and  only  about  one-fourth  receive  more  than  $500;  the  majority 
get  between  $400  and  $500.  Similarly,  the  majority  of  the  rural  teachers  get  from 
$250  to  $350. 

6.  Finances 

The  common  schools  (elementary  and  secondary)  of  the  state  have  two  principal 
sources  of  income:  (a)  local  taxation  and  (b)  state  funds.  Local  taxes  are  levied  upon 
the  grand  list  {i.e.,  one  per  cent  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  real  and  personal  prop- 
erty, plus  the  ratable  polls).  The  local  tax  rate  for  school  purposes,  exclusive  of  the 
state  tax  of  eight  per  cent,  varied  in  1912  from  twenty  cents  on  the  dollar  of  the  grand 
list,  the  minimum  permitted  by  law,  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  cents.  The  average 
rate'  for  the  entire  state  for  that  year  was  sixty-one  cents. 

The  state  tax  of  eight  per  cent  is  assessed  annually  upon  the  grand  list,^  and  after 
receipt  at  the  state  treasury  was,  up  to  the  passage  of  the  School  Fund  Consolidation 
Act  of  1913,  apportioned  by  the  board  of  education*  and  paid  to  the  several  towns 
and  cities  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  legal  schools  maintained  during  the  pre- 
ceding school  year;  $45,000  being  deducted  from  the  total  in  making  the  general 
apportionment  and  divided  among  towns  raising  fifty  cents  or  more  on  the  dollar 
of  the  grand  list  for  school  purposes.  From  this  and  a  $15,000  reserve  of  the  income 
of  the  permanent  school  fund,  an  amount  was  paid  these  towns  in  1912  sufficient  to 
provide  one-fourth  of  such  excess  above  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar. 

A  permanent  public  school  fund  was  constituted  in  1906.  This  fund  consists  of 
the  sum  of  $240,000  returned  by  the  federal  government  to  the  state  in  settlement 
of  Civil  War  claims,  together  with  the  so-called  Huntington  Fund,  the  United  States 

*  F'or  details,  see  Part  III.  '  For  details,  see  Part  III.  '  Public  Statutes,  section  1091. 

*  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  sections  1095  and  1096  of  the  Public  Statutes,  as  amended  by  Nos.  34  and  47 
of  the  Acts  of  1908. 


THE  EXISTING  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  33 

deposit  money,  and  certain  other  additions.  The  governor,  heutenant-governor,  state 
treasurer,  and  superintendent  of  education,  ex  qfficiis,  and  other  persons  appointed 
biennially  by  the  governor,  constitute  the  board  of  trustees  of  this  permanent  fund. 
The  income  from  the  permanent  school  fund,  exclusive  of  the  $15,000  reserve  referred 
to  above,  was  divided  among  the  towns,  cities,  and  unorganized  units,  according  to 
the  number  of  legal  schools  maintained  during  the  preceding  year. 

In  addition  to  the  eight  per  cent  tax  and  the  income  from  the  permanent  school 
fund,  the  state,  until  the  law  of  1913,  made  a  number  of  appropriations  in  aid  of 
special  public  school  purposes,  the  more  important  of  which  were  for  the  partial  pay- 
ment of  the  salaries  of  union  superintendents ;  for  teachers'  training  courses  in  high 
schools;  for  manual  training  courses  in  high  schools;  for  transportation  and  board 
of  pupils;  and  for  advanced  (high  school)  instruction. 

By  the  terms  of  the  School  Fund  Consolidation  Act,  approved  February  22, 1913, 
the  proceeds  of  the  eight  per  cent  state  tax  and  of  the  permanent  school  fund  were 
combined,  together  with  an  annual  appropriation  of  $50,000,  to  form  a  fund  for 
apportionment  and  distribution  among  the  various  towns. 

Tables  showing  the  receipts  and  expenditures  from  1862  to  1912,  inclusive,  are 
given  in  Part  III.  The  educational  interests  of  the  state  other  than  the  common 
schools  are  maintained  by  appropriations  from  the  general  income  of  the  state. 

The  following  items  of  state  expenditure  for  educational  purposes  in  1912  are 
quoted  from  the  report  of  the  auditor  of  accounts : 

Administration 

State  Board  of  Education  $916-64 

State  Superintendent^  7,634.93 

Union  Superintendents  39,888.20 

Improvement  of  Teachers 

State  Teachers'  Association  $200.00 

Summer  Schools  900.00 

Educational  Meetings  819-68 

Common  Schools 

State  School  Tax  $l6.5,602.l6 

Permanent  School  Fund  51,800.75 

Transportation  20,000.00 

Manual  training  750.00 

Tuition  payments  for  higher  instruction  of  about  $30,000  were  omitted  in  1912, 
but  were  authorized  later. 

Agricultural  Education 
State  School  of  Agriculture  $25,580.54 

*  Including  superintendent's  salary,  S2000. 


34  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Defectives  and  Delinquents 
Austine  Institution  $5,000,00 

State  Beneficiaries  18,059.76 

Training  of  Teachers 
Normal  Schools  $39,888.20 

Higher  and  Professional  Education 

University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College ^  $76,000.00 

Middlebury  College  16,000.00 

Norwich  University  11,000.00 

Libraries 

State  Library  $8,079-77 

State  Aid  to  Libraries  2,809-92 

Library  Commissioners  2,809.86 

Traveling  Libraries  1,400.00 

The  following  totals  of  educational  expenditure  in  the  state  in  1912  are  quoted 
from  the  report  of  the  state  superintendent : 

Superintendents  $77,005.12 

School  directors  11,046.59 

Truant  officers  3,511.14 

Medical  inspectors  326.23 

Teachers  968,382.35 

Transportation  and  board  of  pupils  101,167.23 

Advanced  tuitions  54,136.18 

Elementary  tuitions  11,241.17 

Text-books  41,020.50 

Supplies  and  appliances  46,419-30 

Furniture  13,116.69 

Repairs  66,452.97 

Water,  fuel,  and  light  85,997.68 

Janitors  and  laborers  67,394.30 

Insurance  and  rent  15,990.01 

Indebtedness  on  current  expenses  of  previous  year  61,632.74 

Miscellaneous  47,869. 1 5 

Aggregate  of  current  expenses  $1,672,709.35 

New  buildings  $204,191.40 

Notes  and  bonds  for  new  buildings  38,443.52            242,634.92 

Aggregate  school  expenditures  $1,915,344.27 

Percentage  of  valuation  required  for  schools  .59 

Average  (current)  cost  per  pupil  (enrolled)  $25.94 

(For  secondary  pupil,  $42.21 ;  for  elementary  pupils,  $24.85.) 

*  Including  $60,000  from  the  federal  government. 


THE  EXISTING  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  35 

In  a  recent  comparative  study  of  the  public  school  systems  of  all  of  the  states  of 
the  Union '^  Vermont  occupied  the  first  place  among  the  states  in  the  proportion  of 
children  enrolled  in  school,  fifth  place  in  average  attendance  per  child,  ninth  in  the 
percentage  of  the  public  wealth  expended  for  schools,  fourteenth  in  the  average  ex- 
penditure per  child,  fifteenth  in  the  average  value  per  child  of  public  school  property, 
twenty-second  in  the  number  of  days  the  schools  were  open  during  the  year,  twenty- 
fourth  in  the  cost  of  a  day's  schooling  for  a  child,  and  forty -third  in  the  average 
annual  salary  of  public  school  teachers. 

Because  of  the  variable  and  incomplete  character  of  the  statistics  that  go  to  make 
up  such  comparisons,  their  results  are  merely  suggestive.  The  attitude  of  Vermont 
in  inaugurating  and  cooperating  with  this  enquiry  indicates  that  the  state  desires  the 
best  results  that  are  possible,  irrespective  of  comparisons  with  other  states. 


'  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  Division  of  Education,  Bulletin  No.  124,  New  York,  December,  1912. 


Ill 

THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

This  section  discusses  the  following  topics:  1.  The  Sources  of  Information;  2.  Stand- 
ards of  Judgment;  and  3.  The  Scope  and  Character  of  Elementary  Education  in 
Vermont,  including  (a)  the  administration  of  school  affairs,  (b)  the  ages  and  attendance 
of  pupils,  (c)  the  teachers,  (d)  the  state  course  of  study,  (e)  the  character  of  the  instruc- 
tion, (J")  the  extent  and  character  of  the  supervision,  (g)  the  conditions  of  school 
grounds,  buildings,  and  equipment,  in  both  (1)  rural  and  (2)  graded  schools,  (h)  sup- 
plies, and  (i)  the  consolidation  of  rural  schools ;  and,  finally,  4.  Recommendations. 

1.  Sources  of  Information 

The  conclusions  to  be  found  in  this  section  are  based  almost  entirely  on  impres- 
sions gained  in  visiting  two  hundred  Vermont  schools  and  observing  the  work  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty  teachers,  from  a  study  of  the  registers  of  all  of  the  schools  in 
two  hundred  and  two  towns,  from  the  printed  reports  of  the  state  and  towns,  and 
from  many  interviews.  A  form  calling  for  certain  information  regarding  their  train- 
ing, salary,  and  experience  was  sent  to  each  elementary  school  teacher  in  the  state, 
and  twenty-two  hundred  replies  were  received  and  studied.  Finally,  there  were  the 
suggestions  of  nearly  one  thousand  representative  citizens  sent  in  response  to  enquiries 
from  the  commission.  The  week  following  March  21  was  devoted  to  an  examination 
of  the  records  to  be  found  in  the  state  superintendent's  office,  and  to  visiting  six  of 
the  union  superintendents,  in  order  to  gain  a  conception  of  the  spirit  of  the  school 
system  and  to  learn  what  facts  were  readily  available. 

It  happened  that  the  schools  had  vacation  during  the  next  two  weeks,  so  that  this 
time,  April  1  to  15,  was  devoted  to  a  study  of  "  The  Teacher's  Manual  for  Use  in  the 
Elementary  Schools"  and  the  different  courses  of  study  that  had  been  obtained.  When 
the  schools  were  again  in  session  a  supervisory  union  or  district  was  selected  and  three 
days  were  devoted  to  an  intensive  examination  of  the  attendance  of  pupils,  the  courses 
of  study,  the  quality  of  instruction,  the  extent  and  character  of  supervision,  and  the 
general  condition  of  the  school  buildings  and  equipment.  Especial  attention  was  given 
to  the  rural  schools.  Of  the  twenty-three  teachers  visited  during  these  days,  thirteen 
were  in  one-room  schools.  From  this  time  until  the  schools  closed  in  the  early  part  of 
June,  visits  were  so  planned  that  all  parts  of  the  state  were  seen  and  every  type  of  school 
and  community  was  observed.  In  all,  forty-five  days  were  spent  in  visiting  schools.  The 
difficulty  of  travel  made  brief  visits  necessary  in  some  schools,  but  many  recitations 
in  each  subject  were  observed.  It  may  reasonably  be  assumed  that  neither  the  very 
best  nor  the  very  poorest  schools  were  seen.  A  sufficient  proportion,  however,  of  all  the 
schools  and  teachers  were  visited  to  give  an  adequate  general  conception  of  the  actual 
condition  and  operation  of  the  schools.  The  conclusions  reached  in  this  way  have  been 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  37 

verified  in  every  possible  manner.  Not  only  were  teachers,  superintendents,  and  other 
school  officers  freely  consulted,  but  also  merchants,  doctors,  and  others  whose  relation 
to  their  communities  gave  them  opportunity  to  know  and  to  judge  the  schools  wisely. 
During  the  last  weeks  of  March  the  town  clerks  were  asked  to  send  the  registers  of 
the  school  year  1911-12  to  the  secretary  of  the  commission.  The  registers  from  two 
hundred  and  two  of  the  two  hundred  and  forty-six  towns  and  cities  in  the  state  were 
so  forwarded.  From  these  registers  it  was  possible  to  determine  the  regularity  of  the 
pupils'  attendance,  the  ages  of  pupils,  the  number  of  inexperienced  teachers,  the  num- 
ber of  teachers  who  are  new  to  their  schools,  the  certificates  of  the  teachers,  and  the 
number  of  visits  made  by  the  superintendent. 


2.  Standards  of  Judgment 

At  the  very  beginning  of  such  an  enquiry  it  is  necessary  to  decide  upon  at  least 
some  of  the  standards  that  shall  be  employed  in  judging  the  schools,  as  these  stand- 
ards determine  the  initial  selection  of  facts  for  study  and  the  approach  to  them. 

One  standard  that  is  often  used  is  based  upon  customary  or  general  practice.  Thus, 
if  the  various  states  are  an-anged  in  the  order  of  their  per  capita  expense  for  educa- 
tion, a  glance  will  show  the  relative  position  of  any  state  in  this  particular.  Among 
the  topics  that  are  judged  by  this  comparative  standard  are  the  attendance  of  pupils, 
the  emphasis  put  upon  various  subjects  as  shown  by  time  allotments,  and  the  topics 
treated  in  the  course  of  study ;  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching  force  as  shown  by  the 
training,  experience,  and  salaries  of  teachers,  and  the  general  efficiency  of  the  schools 
as  shown  by  the  percentages  of  those  who  remain  in  school  and  of  those  who  pass 
regularly  from  grade  to  grade.  The  quality  of  instruction  is  sometimes  judged  on 
the  basis  of  examination  marks  obtained  by  pupils  in  one  school  as  compared  with 
those  secured  by  pupils  who  take  the  same  examinations  in  other  schools. 

This  comparative  standard  has  the  merit  of  definiteness.  It  also  keeps  attention 
focused  upon  actual  practice,  and  may  thus  avoid  the  influence  of  opinion  and  theory. 
When  applied  to  any  particular  school  or  system  of  schools,  however,  this  standard 
has  certain  decided  defects.  As  it  is  in  part  derived  from  the  very  facts  that  it  is  in- 
tended to  measure,  the  helpfulness  of  judgments  reached  in  this  way  must  depend  upon 
the  extent  to  which  the  systems  that  are  compared  embody  proper  principles.  Such  a 
standard,  further,  assists  in  presenting  facts,  but  it  does  not  interpret  them,  so  that 
the  defects  discovered  in  this  way  are  too  often  merely  effects  rather  than  the  causes. 
Moreover,  it  emphasizes  uniformity  without  due  consideration  of  the  conditions  that 
should  legitimately  produce  variation.  It  is  likely  to  test  pupils  for  their  knowledge 
of  school  subjects  rather  than  for  their  ability  to  deal  with  facts.  Finally,  the  con- 
clusions reached  by  the  use  of  this  standard  are  likely  to  cause  undue  self-satisfaction 
among  the  systems  that  rank  high  in  any  particulars,  although  they  may  yet  be  in 
very  great  need  of  improvement. 


38  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Occasionally  those  who  have  had  large  experience  either  in  conducting  schools  or  in 
observing  and  studying  educational  conditions  have  been  asked  to  state  their  opinion 
regarding  the  efficiency  of  a  given  school  or  system  of  schools.  Their  conclusions  are 
valid  only  to  the  extent  to  which  they  are  able  to  gain  knowledge  of  all  of  the  con- 
ditions which  affect  the  schools  in  question.  Neither  measurement  nor  judgment  is 
independent  of  the  other,  and  both  are  dependent  upon  fundamental  principles. 

In  judging  the  efficiency  of  elementary  education  in  Vermont,  therefore,  no  single 
method  has  been  used  exclusively.  Some  features  of  the  system  have  been  compared 
with  similar  features  in  other  states.  Sometimes  opinions  based  upon  experience  with 
school  conditions  have  been  given.  Mainly,  however,  reliance  has  been  placed  upon 
the  application  of  standards  that  grow  out  of  the  essential  purpose  of  the  school.  This 
method  has  the  advantage  of  applying  the  same  kind  of  standard  that  the  public  uses 
when  it  judges  the  efficiency  of  the  schools.  Its  conclusions  point  the  way  to  improve- 
ment. 

The  purpose  of  the  public  elementary  school  cannot  be  other  than  assistance  in 
developing  character  and  making  good  citizens.  On  this  ground  alone  can  the  expendi- 
ture of  public  money  for  schools  be  justified.  The  standards  that  are  largely  used  in 
this  part  of  the  report  grow  out  of  this  conception  of  the  purpose  of  the  elementary 
school.  They  are  briefly  stated  here ;  their  application  will  be  found  in  the  section  deal- 
ing with  the  criticism  of  elementary  education : 

1.  Schools  should  recognize  the  varying  abilities,  experiences,  and  environment 
of  the  children. 

2.  Schools  should  recognize  both  the  present  and  the  future  needs  of  the  chil- 
dren. 

3.  The  knowledge  gained  in  school  should  be  so  organized  that  the  children 
can  use  it. 

4.  In  so  far  as  the  state  assumes  the  responsibility  for  elementary  education,  the 
educational  opportunities  should  be  as  nearly  uniform  throughout  the  state  as 
conditions  will  permit. 


3.  The  Scopk  and  Character  of  Elementary  Education  in  Vermont 
(a)  The  Administration  of  School  Affairs 
Since  1892  the  administrative  unit  for  school  affiiirs  in  Vermont  has  been  the  town, 
a  territory  in  general  about  six  miles  square,  which  corresponds  to  the  township  in 
other  New  England  states.  Prior  to  1870  control  rested  with  the  districts;  the  legisla- 
ture of  that  year  enacted  laws  allowing  the  present  town  system,  but  it  was  not  com- 
pulsory until  1892.  The  school  affiiirs  of  the  town  are  administered  by  a  board  of 
school  directors  of  three  members,  whose  election,  organization,  duties,  and  compen- 
sation are  described  on  page  27.  Very  few  directors  concern  themselves  with  the  inter- 
nal affairs  of  the  schools,  except  to  encourage  and  assist  the  teachers  and  superin- 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  39 

tendents.  Occasionally,  however,  a  director  undertakes  to  control  the  discipline  of  the 
school,  to  dictate  the  methods  that  shall  be  employed  by  the  teachers,  and  to  purchase 
on  his  own  responsibility  books,  equipment,  and  supplies  that  are  useless  in  the  school- 
room. Fortunately,  such  occiu'rences  are  so  rare  and  stand  in  such  bold  contrast  to 
the  general  course  pursued  as  to  be  almost  negligible.  In  practice  the  boards  seldom 
have  regular  meetings.  Where  the  directors  are  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  each  is 
likely  to  look  after  the  repairs  and  concerns  of  the  school  or  schools  near  him.  There 
are  some  towns  in  which  no  minutes  are  kept  of  the  meetings  that  are  held. 

Two  features  of  elementary  school  administration  deserve  especial  attention.  The 
boards  rarely  have  written  contracts  with  those  whom  they  employ.  This  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  manipulate  accounts  so  that  the  people  of  the  town  may  be  in  ignorance  of 
true  conditions.  In  one  town  it  was  asserted  that  a  teacher  was  paid  ten  dollars  a  week, 
but  the  accounts  were  so  transferred  that  she  was  reported  to  the  town  as  receiving 
only  eight  dollars. 

Teachers  and  those  who  transport  children  should  have  written  contracts  in  dupli- 
cate. In  the  case  of  teachers  such  contracts  should,  whenever  possible,  be  for  the  year 
rather  than  for  the  single  term  of  ten  or  twelve  weeks.  This  would  tend  to  decrease  the 
number  of  changes  of  teachers  in  the  rural  schools.  These  contracts  should  state  the 
times  at  which  the  payments  of  salary  are  to  be  made.  School  directors  are  particu- 
larly concerned  in  this  matter.  The  absence  of  written  contracts  and  often  the  lack  of 
minutes  of  board  meetings  make  it  possible  for  any  one  so  inclined  to  cast  doubts  upon 
the  integrity  of  the  director.  In  one  town  a  teacher  said :  "  I  am  getting  nine  dollars 
a  week,  but  I  don't  know  what  I  am  supposed  to  be  receiving.  When  I  was  employed, 
the  director  stipulated  that  I  was  to  board  with  him,  and  he  has  my  wages  paid  in 
two  checks,  one  to  himself  for  my  board,  and  the  balance  to  me.  I  have  never  seen  his 
check.""  An  examination  of  the  books  of  the  clerk  was  made,  but  as  there  were  no 
written  contracts  and  the  teacher  had  been  paid  at  irregular  intervals,  there  was  no 
way  of  determining  the  period  for  which  payment  had  been  made.  In  two  of  the  towns 
visited  there  had  been  no  agreement  as  to  how  much  the  town  was  to  pay  for  con- 
veying pupils.  The  school  officer  told  what  he  thought  he  would  pay,  but  a  talk  with 
those  conveying  the  children  revealed  the  fact  that  they  were  expecting  very  differ- 
ent amounts  — in  one  case,  thirty  per  cent  less.  To  assist  the  school  officers,  the  school 
registers  should  each  contain  at  least  three  teachers'  contracts  in  duplicate  and  a 
form  of  transportation  contract. 

One  reason  for  having  school  affairs  controlled  by  a  board  of  citizens,  rather  than 
by  those  engaged  in  the  profession  of  education,  is  to  make  it  easy  for  any  person  who 
feels  himself  aggrieved  to  be  heard  by  those  who  presumably  will  be  in  sympathy 
with  his  point  of  view.  In  actual  practice  it  often  happens  that  it  is  wiser  for  parents 
to  submit  to  what  they  consider  grave  injustice  rather  than  to  attempt  to  have  con- 
ditions changed.  If  they  go  to  the  teacher,  they  may  gain  nothing  but  to  incur  her 
ill-will  toward  their  child.  The  superintendent  often  feels  that  he  must  sustain  the 


40 


EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


teacher,  and  the  board  the  superintendent.  There  is  the  possibiHty  of  an  appeal  to 
the  courts,  but  this  is  slow  and  expensive.  There  should  always  be  an  easy  and  inexpen- 
sive method  of  appeal  to  an  authority  that  can  act  quickly  and  impartially  and  whose 
verdict  will  be  final.  Such  authority  should  rest  with  the  state  board  of  education. 
Some  cases  may  now  be  appealed  to  this  board,  but  in  mattex's  connected  with  the  con- 
veyance of  pupils,  the  designation  of  a  particular  school  for  pupils  to  attend,  insuffi- 
cient school  accommodations,  or  cases  of  attendance  upon  a  school  in  another  town, 
and  the  number  of  weeks  of  school  attendance,  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  town 
board  is  to  the  town  or  union  superintendent,  by  a  petition  signed  by  five  taxpayers 
of  the  towTi.  Two  persons,  one  chosen  by  either  party,  act  with  the  superintendent, 
and  their  decision  rendered  in  writing  is  binding  on  the  board.  The  superintendent 
who  thus  exercises  judicial  powers  must  also,  as  the  agent  of  the  board,  exercise  execu- 
tive authority  over  patrons  upon  whose  goodwill  much  of  his  success  depends. 


(b)  The  Ages  and  Attendance  of  Pupils 
The  school  age  in  Vermont  is  from  five  to  seventeen  inclusive;  the  compulsory  ages 
are  from  eight  to  fifteen  inclusive,  unless  the  child  is  physically  incapable  of  attending 
school,  or  has  already  acquired  the  branches  taught  in  the  elementary  school  as  pre- 
scribed by  the  superintendent  of  education.  A  judgment  based  upon  the  federal  census 
of  1910  would  place  the  number  of  children  of  five  to  seventeen  years  of  age  in  the 
state  at  about  83,000.  Of  this  number  approximately  57,000  are  attending  the  ele- 
mentary schools.  Fifty-four  per  cent  of  the  children  live  in  the  country,  and  nearly 
ninety -five  per  cent  of  them  are  native  born.  Comparatively  few  children  enter  school 
before  six  and  almost  none  remain  after  sixteen  years  of  age.  An  examination  of  the 
registers  of  608  schools  in  69  towns  and  incorporated  districts  chosen  at  random 
showed  that  the  ages  of  the  13,136  children  attending  these  elementary  schools  (June 
30,  1912)  were  as  follows: 

Affes       No.  of  Pupils        Per  Cent  of  the  Total 

.2 

1.6 

6.2 
10.2 
10.3 
11.2 
10.6 

9.1 
10.0 


Each  year,  between  the  20th  and  30th  of  June,  the  clerk  of  the  board  of  school 
directors  of  each  town  is  required  to  prepare  an  accurate  list  of  the  children  of 


4 

21 

5 

213 

6 

815 

7 

1,343 

8 

1,358 

9 

1,470 

10 

1,389 

11 

1,274 

12 

1,308 

Ages 

No.  of  Pupils 

Per  Cent  of  the  Total 

13 

1,248 

9.6 

14 

1,207 

9.2 

15 

996 

7.6 

16 

339 

2.6 

17 

121 

.9 

18 

27 

.2 

19 

4 

20 

2 

21 

1 

Total 

13,136 

THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  41 

school  age  and  the  names  of  the  parents  or  other  persons  responsible  for  each  child ; 
the  clerk  receiving  a  compensation  of  five  cents  for  the  name  of  each  child.  In  many 
towns  so  little  attention  is  paid  to  this  school  census  that  the  federal  census  for 
1910  showed  several  thousand  more  children  than  were  reported  by  the  school  clerks. 
A  not  uncommon  way  of  making  the  census  list  is  for  the  clerk  to  take  the  registers 
of  the  previous  year,  add  one  year  to  the  ages  of  the  children,  dropping  any  that  he 
knows  to  have  moved  away,  and  adding  any  that  he  may  recall  as  having  moved  into 
the  district.  This  list  is  to  be  kept  on  file,  and  from  it  the  clerk  is  required  to  insert 
in  the  register  of  each  school  the  names  of  the  children  who  should  attend  that  school. 
This  provision,  however,  is  very  generally  disobeyed.  An  examination  of  practically 
all  the  school  registers  for  1912  shows  that  less  than  one-half  had  the  names  so  in- 
serted, and  in  many  of  these  cases  the  teacher  herself  had  supplied  them.  The  children 
that  are  omitted  by  such  procedure  are  precisely  those  that  are  in  the  greatest  need 
of  schooling. 

In  many  towns  the  school  census  is  fairly  correct;  in  others  there  is  little  claim  to 
accuracy.  If  this  condition  persists,  a  remedy  may  be  found  in  some  regulation  that 
shall  cause  part  of  the  state  aid  to  be  based  on  the  number  of  children  of  school  age. 
In  this  event  the  state  board  should  require  an  affidavit  of  the  correctness  of  the  report 
from  school  officers. 

There  is  no  trustworthy  information  regarding  the  number  or  location  of  school 
children  who  are  so  deaf  or  who  have  such  poor  sight  as  to  be  unfit  for  the  public 
schools.  These  data  should  appear  in  the  census  in  order  that  such  unfortunates  may 
receive  the  care  to  which  they  are  entitled.  When  adequate  tests  have  been  devel- 
oped for  the  detection  of  the  feeble-minded,  these  children  also  should  be  especially 
enumerated. 

Except  for  a  relatively  small  number  of  towns,  the  proportion  of  children  of  school 
age  enrolled  and  the  attendance  of  those  so  enrolled  is  remarkably  good.  The  federal 
census  of  1910  shows  that  Vermont  is  tied  with  Kansas  for  first  place  in  the  propor- 
tion of  children  of  school  age  who  were  enrolled  in  school  for  some  portion  of  the 
school  year.  When  compared  with  other  states,  the  attendance  of  pupils  in  Vermont 
schools  also  is  excellent,  but  no  state  can  afford  to  relax  its  efforts  until  every  child 
who  should  be  in  school  is  in  attendance  every  day  that  the  schools  are  in  session, 
unless  he  is  prevented  by  sickness  or  some  pressing  need  in  the  home. 

Some  states  require  that  teachers  report  each  absence  of  a  pupil  who  should  be  in 
attendance.  Others  permit  teachers  to  cease  to  consider  pupils  as  members  of  the  school 
after  a  certain  number  of  consecutive  days  of  absence.  This  number  in  some  states  is 
three,  in  others  five,  and  in  still  others  ten  days.  In  Vermont  ten  consecutive  days' 
absence  is  supposed  to  sever  the  pupil's  membership.  Thus  a  child  who  was  absent  ten 
or  more  consecutive  days  would  not  be  counted  absent  in  the  report  rendered  to  the 
state  superintendent,  but  one  who  had  been  absent  nine  consecutive  days,  or  any 
number  of  days  at  intervals,  would  be  reported  for  all  absences.  This  varied  practice 


42  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

makes  any  comparison  of  the  regularity  of  attendance  that  is  based  upon  state  reports 
very  unreliable.  In  about  half  of  the  registers  for  1911-12  the  teachers  had  failed  to 
understand  the  rule  regarding  membership  and  had  reported  all  absences.  This  differ- 
ence in  the  method  of  i-ecording  absences  makes  it  unsafe  to  compare  the  attendance 
of  even  two  schools  in  the  same  town.  The  cause  of  absence  is  not  indicated  in  the 
register,  consequently  there  is  no  way  of  determining  the  exact  amount  of  unlawful 
absence.  Each  absence  should  be  recorded,  and  a  system  of  symbols  for  indicating 
the  cause  of  absence  should  be  devised  by  the  state  superintendent.  This  would  make 
it  possible  to  report  the  number  of  absences  due  to  sickness,  as  well  as  those  that 
are  unlawful. 

The  state  has  a  stringent  compulsory  education  law.  Its  provisions  are  clear,  and 
the  duties  of  teachers  and  truant  officers  are  explicit.  In  some  towns,  however,  the  law 
is  not  obeyed,  A  few  places  were  found  where  teachers  had  repeatedly  sent  notices 
of  truancy  to  the  truant  officers,  but  these  officers  had  not  even  enquired  the  cause 
of  absence.  The  consequence  is  that  in  a  few  schools  at  least  one  fourth  of  the  pupils 
are  habitual  truants  or  are  unlawfully  kept  at  home  by  parents.  If  the  attendance 
laws,  when  properly  enforced,  fail  to  correct  such  abuses  as  now  exist  in  these  places, 
a  legal  provision,  making  it  possible  for  the  state  board  to  withhold  state  funds  from 
such  towns,  would  be  entirely  effective. 

(c)  The  Teachers 
About  twenty-four  hundred  teachers  are  required  for  the  elementary  schools  of  the 
state,  but  owing  to  resignations,  more  than  twenty-seven  hundred  different  teachers 
were  employed  during  1911—12.  About  two  hundred  of  this  number  were  men.  The 
lack  in  large  sections  of  Vermont  of  occupations  for  women  other  than  teaching  has 
had  a  tendency  to  keep  the  teacher's  salary  very  low,  and  this  in  turn  has  prevented 
the  rural  schools  in  particular  from  obtaining  teachers  who  have  any  considerable 
amount  of  professional  training.  The  typical  rural  school  teacher  is  therefore  a  young 
woman  of  about  twenty-three,  who  has  been  teaching  about  four  years  for  $8,50  a 
week  or  $275  a  school  year.  In  many  cases  she  teaches  in  her  home  town  and  either 
walks  or  drives  from  one  to  five  miles  to  get  to  her  school.  She  is  a  graduate  of  a  four- 
year  high  school,  but  has  had  no  professional  training.  Never  having  been  taught  the 
methods  and  devices  that  might  enable  her  to  meet  the  situations  of  the  class-room, 
she  either  succeeds  or  fails  in  accordance  with  her  native  ability,  and  this  fortunately 
is  large.  As  might  be  expected,  the  better  trained  teachers  are  found  in  the  graded 
schools,  where  the  salaries  are  much  better  and  the  tenure  of  office  is  more  secure. 
More  than  two-thirds  of  the  graded  school  teachers  began  teaching  in  ungraded 
schools.  Detailed  information  concerning  the  salaries,  academic  and  professional 
training,  and  teaching  experience  of  more  than  twenty-two  hundred  of  the  elemen- 
tary teachers  is  presented  in  Part  III. 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  43 

An  examination  of  the  school  registers  for  1911-12  showed  that  while  only  twelve 
per  cent  of  the  teachers  each  term  were  inexperienced,  more  than  one-half  of  the  teach- 
ers of  the  rural  schools  were  new  to  the  schools  in  which  they  taught.  A  conserva- 
tive estimate,  therefore,  of  the  number  of  different  teachers  a  child  would  have  in 
passing  through  the  rural  elementary  schools  would  be  fifteen.  Li  the  graded  schools 
this  number  would  be  less.  Teachers  are  not  required  to  sign  contracts,  and  in  many 
towns  they  are  engaged  merely  for  the  term  of  ten  weeks.  In  some  places  it  is  im- 
possible for  the  teachers  to  obtain  suitable  boarding-houses  in  the  vicinity  of  their 
schools,  and  the  town  has  to  transport  them  to  and  from  the  school. 

The  relations  that  prevail  between  the  teachers  and  the  pupils  in  the  two  hundred 
elementary  schools  visited  deserve  special  commendation.  The  old-time  severity  has 
given  way  to  a  helpful  attitude  of  mutual  respect  and  cooperation.  In  the  recita- 
tion the  teachers  manifested  a  patience  and  a  sympathy  that  placed  the  child  at 
ease  and  called  forth  his  best  efforts.  In  no  case  was  sarcasm  employed,  and  in  only 
one  instance,  and  that  in  a  graded  school,  was  a  teacher  heard  to  speak  in  a  way  that 
humiliated  a  pupil. 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  teachers  and  superintendents  do  not  have  to  exercise 
discipline  and  even  to  employ  severe  measures.  In  several  of  the  schools  that  were 
visited  teachers  had  failed  so  completely  earlier  in  the  year  that  they  had  been  re- 
moved. Generally,  however,  those  in  charge  of  the  schools  are  meeting  such  critical 
situations  in  a  manner  that  aids  the  development  of  character. 

The  fact  that  many  teachers  do  not  board  in  the  communities  where  they  teach 
limits  their  usefulness  to  the  community.  Here  and  there,  however,  over  the  entire 
state  young  women  scarcely  out  of  their  teens  are  wielding  remarkable  influence.  In 
some  cases  the  towns  have  spontaneously  raised  their  salaries  beyond  what  they  have 
paid  before,  and  adjacent  schools,  so  far  from  opposing  consolidation,  have  been  anx- 
ious to  have  their  children  transported  to  the  schools  presided  over  by  such  teachers. 

The  statutes  provide  that  teachers  may  receive  their  salaries  monthly  if  they  so 
demand.  Practice  in  this  matter  varies  throughout  the  state.  In  some  towns  and  in 
most  if  not  all  of  the  cities  the  teachers  are  paid  monthly.  In  other  towns  the  director 
stipulates  at  the  time  he  employs  the  teacher  that  she  is  to  be  paid  at  the  end  of  the 
term.  In  still  other  towns  teachers  write  or  telephone  to  the  chairman  of  the  direc- 
tors that  they  want  money.  He  fills  out  an  order,  waits  until  he  can  conveniently 
see  the  other  directors  whose  signatures  are  required,  gives  the  signed  order  to  the 
town  treasurer,  and  in  time  the  teacher  receives  her  money.  In  places  where  teachers 
cannot  shop  there  may  be  little  demand  for  ready  money,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
for  many  reasons  the  most  satisfactory  method  of  payment  is  monthly.  In  some  towns 
teachers  have  complained  bitterly  of  the  present  method.  As  is  shown  in  the  report 
on  finances.  Section  VII,  it  is  often  an  advantage  to  the  town  to  postpone  the  pay- 
ment of  teachers  as  long  as  possible,  especially  when  the  selectmen  have  to  borrow 
the  money. 


44  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

(d)  The  State  Course  of  Study 

The  present  "Teacher''s  Manual  for  Use  in  the  Elementary  Schools"  was  issued  by 
the  department  of  education  in  1907.  The  introduction  states  that  it  was  prepared 
for  the  ungraded  rural  schools  rather  than  for  the  graded  schools  in  cities  and  vil- 
lages. No  less  than  twenty  different  people  contributed  to  the  making  of  this  course 
of  study,  and  since  no  definite  principles  are  given  as  having  governed  these  indi- 
viduals in  the  making  of  a  course,  there  is  a  lack  of  unity  in  the  points  of  view.  Some 
of  the  subjects  are  fully  outlined  with  a  clear  statement  of  the  ends  to  be  attained. 
For  other  subjects  there  is  a  mere  catalogue  of  the  things  to  be  done,  with  little  or 
no  indication  of  the  aim  or  purpose  of  the  work.  In  actual  practice  this  course  of 
study  is  not  used  in  many  schools.  Several  of  the  cities  and  larger  villages  have  more 
or  less  detailed  courses  of  study,  and  many  of  the  union  superintendents  have  been 
diligent  in  trying  to  prepare  courses  suitable  for  their  own  schools.  The  following 
summary  indicates  the  order  in  which  a  child,  entering  the  school  at  the  customary 
age  of  six,  will  take  up  the  various  subjects. 

The  child's  principal  task  during  the  first  school  year  is  to  learn  to  read  primers 
and  first  readers.  Incidentally,  he  is  taught  to  spell  many  of  the  words  that  he  reads, 
to  count  to  ten,  to  add  and  subtract  within  the  limit  of  his  ability,  and  in  writing 
to  form  the  letters  and  easy  words.  Many  fairy  and  hero  stories  are  read  to  him,  and  he 
is  encouraged  to  reproduce  them  orally  in  order  that  his  power  of  expression  may  be 
improved.  Some  attention  is  given  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  hygiene,  nature 
study,  and  the  simplest  social  relationships.  In  some  schools  rote  singing  and  draw- 
ing are  also  begun.  Although  the  emphasis  is  upon  reading,  all  the  subjects  that  are 
taught  in  the  elementary  school  are  introduced  in  very  elementary  form  in  the  first 
school  year. 

During  the  second  year  reading  is  still  emphasized,  but  the  other  subjects  are  given 
more  systematic  attention.  Through  constant  drill  the  child  gains  enough  facility 
in  writing  and  spelling  to  write  simple  compositions.  He  learns  the  tables  of  several 
of  the  more  commonly  used  measures  which  the  teacher  employs  in  formulating  sim- 
ple problems  involving  counting,  adding,  and  subtracting.  Rote  singing,  drawing, 
and  the  observation  of  the  common  birds,  animals,  and  plants  is  continued. 

In  the  third  year  the  emphasis  is  changed  from  reading  to  arithmetic.  The  child 
learns  the  multiplication  tables  and  continues  to  drill  upon  addition,  subtraction, 
and  the  simpler  forms  of  fractions.  Although  oral  expression  is  still  encouraged, 
written  composition,  particularly  letter-writing,  and  simple  grammatical  distinc- 
tions form  a  considerable  part  of  the  English  work  in  this  grade.  The  child  is  made 
familiar  with  the  common  geographical  concepts  and  terms  through  the  study  of 
a  text  that  deals  with  the  general  featin*es  of  geography  that  can  be  illustrated  in  his 
own  locality.  In  some  schools  note  singing  is  begun,  and  most  schools  give  nature 
study  and  drawing  some  attention. 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  45 

In  the  fourth  year  the  mastery  of  the  four  fundamental  operations  in  arithmetic 
is  completed,  and  more  definite  work  with  fractions  begun.  Drill  is  accomplished  by 
numerous  examples  found  in  the  text-book.  Since  the  child  is  supposed  to  be  able  to 
read  anything  within  his  comprehension,  less  attention  is  given  to  reading  as  a  sepa- 
rate subject.  Geography  in  this  grade  is  concerned  with  the  earth  as  a  whole.  Hero 
stories  are  used  for  the  direct  purpose  of  teaching  some  of  the  important  events  in 
history.  Letter- writing,  oral  and  written  composition,  and  the  grammatical  analysis 
of  simple  sentences  constitute  the  work  in  English.  The  other  subjects  are  continued 
as  in  the  preceding  grades. 

During  the  fifth  year  the  work  in  arithmetic  is  concerned  with  the  application  of 
numbers  that  involve  decimals  and  percentage.  There  is  reading  for  appreciation  and 
acquaintanceship  with  good  literature.  The  English  is  continued  as  in  the  preceding^ 
grades  with  the  exception  of  an  increased  emphasis  upon  formal  grammar.  In  geogra- 
phy attention  is  given  to  the  study  of  the  principal  features  of  selected  continents. 
Some  of  the  important  events  of  history  are  taught  by  means  of  stories.  The  remain- 
ing subjects  are  taught  as  in  the  fourth  grade. 

In  the  sixth  year  the  chief  new  topic  in  arithmetic  is  simple  interest.  There  is  a 
thorough  drill  in  all  that  has  previously  been  taught.  Formal  grammar  is  more  em- 
phasized in  the  English  work  for  this  year,  and  many  compositions  based  upon  school 
and  home  experiences  are  required.  The  study  of  the  continents  continues  in  geog- 
raphy, and  there  is  an  intensive  study  of  the  state  of  Vermont.  The  reading  of  brief 
historical  studies  is  continued,  and  an  attempt  is  made  to  correlate  history  with  geog- 
raphy and  language  work.  Some  attention  is  given  civic  relationships. 

Prior  to  the  seventh  school  year  all  of  the  fundamental  processes  in  arithmetic 
have  been  taught.  During  this  year  drill  and  reviews,  with  some  of  the  applications  of 
number  to  business  operations,  are  given.  In  history  the  children  begin  a  systematic 
study  of  English  and  early  American  history  from  text-books.  There  is  little  change 
in  the  character  of  the  work  required  in  the  other  school  subjects. 

During  the  eighth  year  and  in  those  schools  that  have  a  ninth  year  the  children 
complete  and  review  the  whole  subject  of  arithmetic.  In  some  schools  elementary  alge- 
bra and  geometry  are  begun.  In  English  attention  is  directed  to  a  somewhat  critical 
study  of  literary  selections,  and  to  a  thorough  review  of  all  the  work  of  the  course. 
In  geography  as  in  arithmetic  the  child  completes  and  reviews  the  subject.  In  history 
an  elementary  text-book  of  American  history  is  completed  and  the  history  of  Ver- 
mont is  considered.  In  general  this  year  is  devoted  to  a  review  and  rounding  up  of 
the  elementary  school  subjects  and  to  further  preparation  in  such  studies  as  are  con- 
tinued in  the  high  school.  The  statutes  require  that  good  manners  be  taught  in  every 
school.  This  is  sometimes  done  by  having  the  pupils  determine  what  they  would  do 
in  hypothetical  situations.  More  often,  however,  teachers  take  the  opportunities  that 
present  themselves  in  the  school-room  for  teaching  this  subject. 

Generally  these  local  courses  of  study  have  been  mimeographed,  and  their  proper 


46  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

use  has  been  made  the  subject  of  discussion  for  teachers  meetings.  The  importance  of 
such  work  cannot  be  overstated.  Superintendents  who  have  undertaken  it  often  express 
their  dissatisfaction  with  the  results,  but  it  has  brought  them  face  to  face  with  the 
real  problems  of  instruction.  For  several  years  prior  to  1913  committees  of  the  union 
superintendents  were  charged  with  the  duty  of  formulating  a  new  state  course  of 
study,  but  these  committees  seem  to  have  accomplished  little,  and  at  their  meeting 
in  June,  1912,  they  decided  that  the  work  could  best  be  done  by  a  smaller  group, 
who  should  be  paid  by  the  state  for  their  services  and  expenses.  Since  that  time, 
however,  there  has  been  no  further  united  effort  in  this  direction. 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  teachers  working  without  any  directions  whatever.  In 
some  cases  girls  who  were  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  June  begin  to  teach  in 
the  autumn  with  their  entire  directions  for  a  year's  work  with  seven  or  more  grades 
written  in  lead  pencil  on  a  single  sheet  of  paper.  Such  teachers  can  do  little  else  than 
work  through  certain  pages  of  the  books  that  are  assigned.  With  their  lack  of  experi- 
ence they  are  unable  even  to  select  the  valuable  parts  of  the  texts,  and  so  they  teach  all 
without  discrimination.  In  all  of  the  schools  observed  there  was  a  marked  tendency  to 
have  the  rural  school  children  do  the  same  work  as  was  done  by  the  children  in  the 
graded  schools  of  the  nearby  villages.  In  a  few  rural  schools  the  teachers  were  attempt- 
ing to  teach  elementary  agriculture,  but  in  general  the  farmers  have  not  been  enthusi- 
astic over  such  attempts,  probably  because  the  teacher  is  in  most  cases  the  daughter 
of  a  neighbor  whose  farm  is  in  no  way  out  of  the  ordinary.  Music  and  drawing  are 
taught  in  most  of  the  schools,  and  some  of  the  teachers  who  have  special  aptitude 
for  hand  work  are  accomplishing  a  great  deal  in  this  subject. 

The  course  of  study  contained  in  "The  Teacher's  Manual"  does  not  differ  essentially 
from  most  other  state  courses.  The  fact  that  it  was  not  followed  to  any  considerable 
extent  in  any  of  the  schools  that  were  visited  would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  is  not 
adapted  to  their  needs.  This  in  fact  was  a  very  common  complaint  among  the  teach- 
ers. The  primary  purpose  of  a  course  of  study,  like  good  teaching  methods,  is  to 
secure  efficient  instruction.  Incidentally  it  serves  in  determining  the  grades  to  which 
pupils  belong  and  assists  the  administrator  in  other  ways.  The  course  of  study  is 
therefore  subject  to  the  same  principles  that  govern  good  teaching. 

The  school  is  one  of  a  large  number  of  institutions  that  contribute  to  the  educa- 
tion of  children.  The  home,  the  farm,  the  factory,  and  the  various  civic,  social, 
and  religious  organizations  each  has  an  influence.  The  school  is  not  intended  to  take 
over  that  which  will  be  well  and  economically  done  elsewhere.  It  is  essential  that  the 
school  recognize  the  varying  abilities,  environment,  and  experiences  of  the  pupils,  and 
the  course  of  study  should  as  far  as  possible  provide  for  such  conditions. 

The  Vermont  course  of  study  recognizes  the  varying  abilities  of  children  to  only 
a  small  extent.  Examples  are  to  be  found  in  the  course  for  reading,  where  a  long  list 
of  books  from  which  the  teachers  may  select  is  given.  The  course  in  arithmetic  for 
the  eighth  and  ninth  grades  states  concerning  certain  subjects  that "  they  may  be 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  47 

regarded  as  optional."  In  general,  however,  no  provision  is  made  for  the  varying  abil- 
ities of  children. 

Children  who  live  on  farms  generally  participate  in  the  activities  of  the  home,  often 
having  chores  to  do.  It  is  certain  that  much  of  their  experience  differs  greatly  from 
that  of  city  children  who  live  in  homes  that  do  not  furnish  such  opportunities.  There 
is  a  statement  in  the  introduction  to  the  manual  to  the  effect  that  the  curriculum 
is  intended  for  the  rural  schools,  and  a  suggestion  that  the  work  and  the  methods  of 
the  graded  schools  differ  somewhat  from  those  of  the  rural  schools  because  the  former 
have  more  time  for  recitation  and  more  pupils  per  class.  But  this  is  the  only  reference 
to  any  difference  in  environment  or  experiences. 

The  introduction  to  the  manual  states  also  that  the  course  is  suggestive  rather 
than  prescribed.  This  would  lead  one  to  expect  that  the  teacher  could  easily  select 
the  subject-matter  most  needed  by  her  pupils.  Such,  however,  is  not  the  case.  In  only 
one  subject  is  there  any  indication  of  what  are  the  more  important  parts,  and  but 
few  guiding  principles  are  stated. 

The  course  aims  to  prepare  for  the  high  school.  In  a  few  particulars  only  does  it 
attempt  to  meet  the  child's  present  needs.  The  arithmetic  for  the  first  year  intro- 
duced only  those  combinations  that  the  child  will  be  likely  to  need,  but  this  is  in 
marked  contrast  to  the  teaching  of  elementary  algebra  in  the  seventh  year. 

In  Vermont  as  elsewhere  there  are  many  complaints  that  pupils  who  have  completed 
the  school  course  are  unable  to  do  satisfactory  work  in  positions  requiring  the  use  of 
arithmetic  and  English.  This  criticism  is  often  turned  against  those  who  were  most 
satisfactory  as  pupils.  The  difficulty  is  not  that  these  subjects  did  not  receive  enough 
time  in  school,  but  rather  that  the  processes  were  merely  memorized  and  the  mem- 
ory kept  alive  by  frequent  drills.  The  children  never  saw  that  these  processes  had 
any  practical  application,  consequently  the  knowledge  was  not  so  organized  that  it 
became  a  part  of  the  child's  experience.  The  remedy  is  to  be  found  in  such  an  organ- 
ization of  the  subject-matter  that  children  can  use  it.  In  this  respect  Vermont  courses 
often  fail.  The  course  in  agriculture,  for  example,  outlines  ten  experiments  for  the  test- 
ing of  soils,  but  there  is  no  suggestion  of  any  use  that  may  be  made  of  this  know- 
ledge. Most  adults  have  little  need  for  the  use  of  square  root  or  algebra,  yet  these 
subjects  are  taught  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  years.  There  are  frequent  directions  to 
the  teacher  to  coiTelate  the  work  of  one  subject  with  some  other,  but  the  course  makes 
no  attempt  to  do  this  except  between  English  and  drawing.  The  country  child  has 
the  same  right  as  the  city  child  to  have  the  work  adapted  to  his  experiences  and 
needs.  This  is  not  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  farmer  of  him,  but  so  as  to  furnish  a 
foundation  upon  which  he  can  organize  his  knowledge.  Except  for  a  few  topics,  such 
as  problems  concerning  fences  in  arithmetic,  and  the  raising  of  vegetables  as  subjects 
for  compositions,  there  are  no  indications  that  the  course  is  intended  for  rural  schools. 

Some  years  ago  the  elementary  school  course  was  lengthened  from  eight  to  nine 
years.  This  was  done  because  the  school  year  in  the  rural  and  many  village  schools 


48  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

was  so  short  that  the  customary  elementary  school  course  could  not  well  be  covered 
in  eight  years.  Now  that  this  special  cause  for  the  longer  course  is  gradually  disap- 
pearing, it  would  be  in  keeping  with  the  practice  of  most  other  states  to  return  to 
an  eight-year  course.  In  fact,  it  would  be  advisable  in  many  sections  where  conditions 
permit  of  conveying  pupils  to  end  the  elementary  course  with  the  sixth  year,  and 
to  do  much  of  what  is  now  done  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  years  in  junior 
high  schools.  This  subject  is  treated  in  detail  in  Section  IV. 

(e)  The  Character  of  the  Instruction 

It  is  unsafe  to  generalize  concerning  the  quality  of  instruction  from  observations 
made  in  only  about  ten  per  cent  of  the  schools.  Because,  however,  of  the  conditions 
that  were  discussed  in  connection  with  the  course  of  study,  and  the  influence  of  the 
free  tuition  examinations,  the  features  of  instruction  presented  here  are  probably 
typical  of  those  throughout  the  state,  except  in  certain  of  the  larger  cities. 

Much  stress  is  laid  upon  certain  formal  branches.  Handwriting  is  probably  the 
most  emphasized  subject  in  the  schools.  In  one  city  the  teachers  were  notified  that  they 
would  not  be  given  contracts  for  the  next  year  unless  they  presented  certificates  of 
proficiency  in  the  method  of  handwriting  employed  in  that  school  system.  In  another 
city  the  teachers  were  given  one  year  in  which  to  qualify  in  a  similar  way.  Formal 
grammar  is  a  close  second  to  handwriting.  In  many  of  the  schools  this  subject  is  begun 
in  the  fourth  grade,  and  is  continued  by  parsing,  analyzing,  and  diagraming,  through 
the  remaining  five  years.  It  is  made  paramount  in  the  ninth  grade.  Arithmetic  also 
receives  disproportionate  emphasis.  Such  subjects  as  history,  geography,  physiology 
and  hygiene,  literature,  art,  and  music  are  not  ignored,  but  aside  from  some  excep- 
tional schools,  these  subjects  do  not  receive  an  appropriate  amount  of  attention. 

This  general  emphasis  on  formal  branches  results  in  making  drill  the  predominant 
method  of  instruction.  This  drill  too  often  has  but  little  thought  behind  it,  and  as 
a  consequence  the  subjects  in  connection  with  which  it  is  used  are  those  in  which  the 
pupils  receive  the  poorest  standings  in  the  free  tuition  examinations,  which  are  dis- 
cussed later.  In  beginning  reading  teachers  and  superintendents  have  very  generally 
discarded  the  earlier  drill  methods  and  now  approach  the  subject  from  the  side  of  its 
content  or  thought,  with  the  result  that  mastery  of  form  comes  about  incidentally, 
and  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  a  child's  desire  to  understand  the  thought.  In  one 
school  the  English  work  of  all  grades,  from  the  third  to  the  ninth  inclusive,  was 
observed.  The  third  grade  pupils  were  asked  to  tell  the  story  illustrated  by  two  pic- 
tures in  the  text.  One  child  did  this  in  remarkably  good  form.  Of  the  seven  classes 
observed,  however,  this  was  the  only  one  in  which  the  children  did  or  said  anything 
that  was  their  own.  The  work  of  the  others  was  confined  to  technical  analysis  of  sen- 
tences, the  diagraming  of  these,  and  the  parsing  of  the  words.  While  this  is  the  most 
general  characteristic  of  the  work  in  English,  there  are  teachers  who  rise  above  it  and 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  49 

put  into  their  English  work  an  element  of  practical  reality  that  brings  excellent  re- 
sults. In  one  school  of  this  sort  the  teacher  set  a  boy  the  task  of  ordering  a  list  of  sup- 
plies that  she  needed.  The  interest  and  appreciation  of  children  who  are  treated  in 
this  practical  way  are  very  great.  In  the  matter  of  literature  the  schools  in  general  are 
teaching  little  else  than  the  so-called  classics.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  that  chil- 
dren who  have  completed  the  elementary  school  course  have  not  read  in  school  any- 
thing that  was  written  within  the  last  century,  except  such  brief  extracts  as  may  occur 
in  the  reading-books.  Progressive  high  school  teachers  report  that  when  the  pupils 
come  to  them  they  cannot  read  books  of  any  considerable  length,  and  find  it  extremely 
difficult  to  study  either  literature  or  composition.  So  far  as  English  is  concerned,  little 
attention  is  given  to  adapting  the  subject  to  the  child's  needs  or  interests.  The  course 
is  based  on  a  supposition  that  the  child  will  enter  the  high  school,  and  that  the 
work  given  is  that  which  is  best  calculated  to  prepare  for  that  end.  The  fact  that  only 
a  few  of  these  boys  and  girls  will  ever  enter  high  school  is  constantly  ignored. 

In  arithmetic  the  situation  is  but  little  better.  A  large  part  of  the  work  in  this 
subject  is  so  far  removed  from  the  experiences  of  the  child  and  from  his  immediate  or 
even  remote  needs  that  he  memorizes  a  mass  of  forms,  which  mean  nothing  to  him 
and  can  never  be  applied  by  him.  In  one  school  an  eighth  grade  was  assigned  ten 
problems  in  compound  fractions.  When  the  children  had  solved  all  the  problems  the 
teacher  read  the  answers  from  his  book,  but  accidentally  read  the  wrong  page  of  an- 
swers. The  pupils  crossed  out  one  after  another  of  their  own  answers  with  no  display 
of  either  surprise  or  disappointment.  Evidently  the  whole  procedure  was  so  unreal  to 
them  that  they  were  prepared  to  accept  any  result.  In  another  graded  school  a  class 
was  trying,  with  little  success,  to  determine  how  much  it  would  cost  to  line  the  inside 
of  a  cylindrical  water  tank  with  lead  half  an  inch  thick  at  a  given  cost  per  pound. 

History  and  geography  are  not  made  to  appeal  to  the  children  by  connecting  these 
subjects  with  their  experiences.  The  lessons  that  were  observed  in  these  subjects  were 
confined  largely  to  a  repetition  of  the  contents  of  some  text-book,  and  there  was 
seldom  any  effort  to  relate  the  statements  of  the  book  with  what  the  child  might  be 
expected  to  know  about  his  own  environment. 

Experience  has  done  a  great  deal  toward  making  some  very  efficient  teachers  in 
Vermont.  The  fact,  however,  that  a  large  majority  of  the  elementary  school  teachers 
have  had  no  professional  training,  together  with  the  absence  of  adequate  courses  of 
study,  makes  the  hearing  of  lessons  from  books  the  predominant  method  of  teaching; 
and  since  the  books  do  not  recognize  the  varying  abilities  or  experiences  of  children, 
the  teaching  does  not.  The  reason  usually  given  for  teaching  parsing,  analyzing,  and 
diagraming  is  that  they  help  children  to  use  language  correctly.  If  doubt  is  cast  on 
the  efficacy  of  this  method  for  accomplishing  that  result,  it  is  said  that  these  subjects 
are  required  for  entrance  to  high  school, — hence  they  are  required  of  children  who 
will  never  enter  high  school.  Little  attention  is  given  to  the  selection  of  subject-mat- 
ter that  will  serve  the  present  needs  of  the  children,  and  this  tends  to  make  much  of 


50  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

the  work  mere  memorizing,  and  an  attempt  to  fix  unrelated  facts  in  the  memory  by 
means  of  drill. 

Much  of  that  which  is  taught  is  not  organized  about  the  child's  experiences.  In  the 
midst  of  Vermont's  famous  mountains,  he  studies  mountains  in  geography,  but  he 
often  sees  no  connection  between  the  two.  No  child  in  a  class  that  was  studying  the 
bones  of  the  arm  and  shoulder  by  means  of  a  book  on  physiology  was  able  to  locate 
these  bones  in  the  body.  In  many  upper  grades  children  who  were  able  to  solve  abstract 
problems  of  area  easily  were  unable  to  compute  the  area  of  their  school-room. 

Some  good  teaching  was  observed  in  the  rural  schools,  but  in  general  it  was  better 
in  the  villages  and  in  cities.  Teachers  in  graded  schools  have  fewer  grades  in  their 
classes  and  are  free  from  the  care  of  the  school  building.  The  trained  teachers  naturally 
seek  the  graded  schools,  and  have  usually  better  pay  and  a  longer  school  year. 

In  general  the  character  of  the  instruction  that  was  found  in  the  Vermont  elementary 
schools  was  determined  largely  by  two  factors.  The  first  is  the  indefiniteness  of  the 
course  of  study,  which  has  been  discussed.  The  second  is  the  free  tuition  examinations. 
In  1906  the  legislature  enacted  laws  which  were  designed  to  place  the  advantages 
of  high  school  education  within  the  reach  of  all  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  state. 
Towns  are  obliged  to  maintain  a  high  school,  or  to  pay  the  tuition  of  properly 
prepared  pupils  in  the  high  schools  of  other  towns  or  states.  There  was  a  suspicion 
that  if  left  to  themselves  the  weaker  high  schools,  in  order  to  secure  more  money, 
would  receive  pupils  who  were  not  qualified  to  do  the  work.  To  prevent  such  a  con- 
dition, the  law  provided  that  the  qualifications  of  the  pupils  should  be  determined 
by  means  of  an  examination,  conducted  by  the  union  or  town  superintendent.  The 
town  is  not  responsible  for  the  tuition  of  any  high  school  pupil  who  does  not  pass 
this  examination. 

The  examinations  are  prepared  by  a  committee  of  the  union  superintendents, 
printed  by  the  state,  and  furnished  to  each  superintendent  who  requires  them;  they 
are  set  on  given  days  for  the  pupils  throughout  the  state.  The  answers  are  returned 
to  the  state  superintendent,  who  employs  readers  to  mark  them,  one  person  reading 
all  of  the  papers  on  the  same  subject.  The  state  superintendent  reports  the  ratings 
to  the  town  or  union  superintendents.  They  determine  the  eligibility  of  the  pupils 
for  free  tuition,  and  report  their  decisions  to  the  state  superintendent  as  warrant  for 
its  payment. 

On  its  face  this  seems  to  be  a  perfectly  logical  method.  In  actual  practice  these  free 
tuition  examinations  have  had  an  undue  influence  upon  both  the  subject-matter  and 
the  methods  of  instruction.  The  teachers,  believing  that  they  are  to  be  judged  by  the 
success  or  failure  of  their  pupils  in  these  examinations,  set  about  to  prepare  for  them. 
In  some  of  the  schools  the  ninth  year  is  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  such  reviews 
and  drills  as  the  experience  of  the  teacher  leads  her  to  believe  will  best  give  this 
preparation.  At  one  of  the  most  critical  periods  of  the  child's  life,  therefore,  he  is 
deprived  of  new  subjects  of  interest,  and  is  bound  to  dwell  again  upon  that  which  he 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  51 

has  gone  over  and  over.  The  effects  of  these  examinations  are  manifest  not  only  in 
the  ninth  grade,  but  throughout  all  of  the  upper  grades.  If  a  teacher  is  asked  why  she 
spends  so  much  time  on  formal  grammar,  she  almost  invariably  replies  that  the  ex- 
aminations demand  it.  In  this  she  is  correct:  until  the  most  recent  examinations,  no 
less  than  ninety  per  cent  of  the  questions  in  English  pertained  to  formal  grammar. 
Although  it  is  a  source  of  no  small  amount  of  pride  among  the  schoolmen  of  Ver- 
mont that  their  high  schools  have  certificate  privileges  with  the  New  England  col- 
leges, yet  a  child  cannot  pass  from  one  division  of  their  own  school  system  to  another 
without  an  examination. 

These  free  tuition  examinations  should  be  abolished.  With  the  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  competent  superintendents  it  should  no  longer  be  necessary  to  employ  this 
means  in  order  to  secure  either  proper  work  in  the  elementary  school  or  adherence 
to  standards  by  the  high  school.  The  abolition  of  these  examinations  would  cause 
a  great  change  in  the  school  work  of  the  upper  elementary  years.  It  would  prevent 
much  of  the  drilling  on  sybject-matter  which  now  seems  of  use  only  for  entering  the 
high  school.  It  would  remove  a  large  part  of  what  is  now  done  in  the  ninth  grade, 
and  give  teachers  and  superintendents  the  initiative  in  determining  what  is  most 
essential  for  the  pupil's  needs. 

(f )  The  Extent  and  Character  of  Supervision 
Prior  to  1906  the  supervision  of  all  of  the  public  schools  was  in  the  hands  of  town 
superintendents,  who  were  appointed  by  the  board  of  school  directors  for  each  town. 
At  present  about  sixty  towns  that  have  not  joined  supervisory  unions  still  have  town 
superintendents.  No  educational  or  professional  qualifications  are  required  of  these 
officers.  They  are  to  observe  the  condition  of  the  schoolhouses,  outbuildings,  and 
grounds;  to  ascertain  whether  schools  are  properly  supplied  with  maps,  reference- 
books,  and  apparatus,  and  the  pupils  with  necessary  text-books.  They  make  recommen- 
dations to  the  board  of  school  directors,  and  they  may  dismiss  teachers  who,  in  their 
judgment,  are  incompetent  or  unfit  for  their  position.  In  a  few  towns  these  offices  are 
held  by  retired  teachers  of  superior  training  and  experience.  In  such  cases  there  is  some 
attempt  at  supervision  of  instruction,  but  in  general  the  town  superintendents  are 
men  who  have  little  knowledge  of  school  affairs.  They  are  in  no  way  qualified  to 
supervise  instruction,  and  the  towns  do  not  often  expect  or  desire  them  to  attempt 
this.  In  one  town  it  was  even  stated  that  when  the  board  appointed  the  superinten- 
dent it  stipulated  that  he  should  not  pay  the  schools  more  than  the  single  visit  each 
term  that  is  required  by  law.  Whether  this  stipulation  was  actually  made  or  no,  the 
superintendent  had  at  any  rate  confined  his  visits  to  the  minimum  number.  When,  as 
in  some  of  the  towns,  the  principal  of  the  high  school  has  been  appointed  town  super- 
intendent also,  the  outlying  schools  are  generally  neglected.  With  the  amount  of 
teaching  that  nearly  all  of  the  high  school  principals  have  to  do  in  the  smaller  schools, 


52  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

they  can  seldom  accomplish  anything  more  in  the  way  of  supervision  than  to  look 
after  the  disciplinary  cases  in  the  grades  located  in  their  own  buildings. 

The  legislature  of  1906  empowered  the  school  directors  of  two  or  more  neighbor- 
ing towns,  having  an  aggregate  of  not  more  than  fifty  nor  less  than  twenty-five  legal 
schools,  to  form  a  union  for  the  purpose  of  employing  a  superintendent  of  schools. 
The  school  directors  of  the  various  towns  forming  such  a  union  constitute  a  joint 
committee  for  the  employment  and  direction  of  the  superintendent  and  the  appor- 
tionment of  the  expenses  of  supervision  among  the  towns  composing  the  union.  Some 
towns  are  unable  to  gain  admission  into  the  unions,  and  there  is  no  authority  that 
can  force  the  adjoining  towns  to  receive  them. 

Since  1907  more  than  sixty  per  cent  of  the  towns  had  joined  unions  for  the  pur- 
pose of  employing  professional  superintendents.  In  1912-13  there  were  55  unions, 
including  all  but  60  of  the  towns.  A  total  of  $77,005  was  paid  to  the  union  super- 
intendents in  1911-12,  but  of  this  amount  the  state  refunded  $50,843,  thus  making 
the  net  expense  to  these  to^^^ls  $26,162. 

Of  the  53  men  and  2  women  employed  as  union  superintendents  during  1912-13, 
36  w^ere  college  graduates,  18  had  had  some  professional  training,  and  49  had  taught 
one  or  more  terms  in  rural  schools.  More  than  one-half  of  them  had  been  high  school 
principals  immediately  before  their  election  as  superintendents. 

These  men  and  women  have  been  pioneers  in  this  work.  The  system  itself  has  been 
in  operation  so  short  a  time  that  it  is  difficult  to  show  by  statistics  just  what  effect  it 
has  had  upon  the  schools.  It  is  evident  that  the  people  of  Vermont  believe  that  the 
services  of  these  union  superintendents  are  valuable,  for  while  a  few  towns  for  one 
cause  or  another  have  withdrawn  from  unions,  the  number  of  unions  has  constantly 
increased,  and  several  towns  that  at  first  refused  to  enter  unions  are  now  most 
anxious  to  do  so.  In  general  the  teachers  believe  in  the  system.  They  are  loyal  to  the 
superintendents,  and  the  younger  teachers  who  are  in  towns  outside  of  unions  have 
almost  without  exception  expressed  their  desire  to  come  under  such  supervision. 

Doubtless  it  has  been  the  more  progressive  towns  that  have  employed  superin- 
tendents, so  that  too  much  emphasis  should  not  be  placed  upon  the  differences  that 
now  exist  between  the  towns  wdthin  and  those  without  the  unions.  That  marked  dif- 
ferences generally  exist  cannot  be  denied.  They  are  noticeable  in  the  general  repair 
of  the  school  buildings,  the  condition  of  the  grounds,  in  the  school  equipment,  the 
sufficiency  of  supplies,  the  character  and  condition  of  the  text-books,  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  compulsory  education  laws,  and  in  the  records  of  the  progress  of  the 
pupils  that  are  furnished  to  parents  and  kept  as  permanent  school  records.  Teachers 
in  unions  regard  themselves  as  members  of  a  group  and  not  as  isolated  individuals. 
By  no  means  the  least  important  effect  of  the  system  is  to  be  found  in  the  influence 
that  some  of  the  superintendents  exert  over  their  communities  in  matters  relating  to 
education. 

The  problem  of  distributing  books  and  supplies  is  complicated  because  each  town 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  53 

in  a  union  purchases  its  own.  It  frequently  happens  that  different  towns  pay  very 
different  prices  for  the  same  articles.  It  is  difficult  to  store  them  in  one  central  place 
from  which  they  may  be  distributed.  In  some  instances  the  work  of  the  superintendents 
has  been  greatly  hampered  by  the  failure  of  the  school  directors  to  secure  sufficient 
supplies.  In  those  towns  where  the  suppHes  are  ordered  in  small  lots  there  is,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  direct  financial  loss  in  the  cost  of  supplies,  a  great  loss  in  the  efficiency  of  the 
schools,  and  a  most  uneconomic  use  of  the  superintendent's  time.  Where  a  year's  sup- 
plies are  ordered  at  once,  as  they  are  in  most  unions,  the  superintendents  are  develop- 
ing methods  of  distribution  that  prevent  inconvenience  to  the  schools  and  the  waste 
of  their  own  time.  The  general  tendency  is  to  allow  the  union  superintendent  to  look 
after  this  matter.  In  all  of  the  towns  that  were  observed  there  w^as  a  very  careful  use 
of  the  books  and  supplies.  Often  the  superintendents  transferred  supplementary  read- 
ers from  one  school  to  another  four  or  five  times  a  year. 

The  union  superintendents  generally  require  reports  from  the  teachers.  The  amount 
and  character  of  the  information  that  most  of  these  officers  possess  concerning  the 
ages,  grades,  and  progress  of  the  pupils  would  do  credit  to  city  school  systems.  Nearly 
all  of  the  union  superintendents  have  devised  more  or  less  efficient  systems  of  re- 
cording the  progress  of  pupils.  In  some  unions  teachers  are  required  to  keep  a  detailed 
record  of  the  work  done  each  day.  In  the  towns  that  follow  a  definite  course  of  study 
the  matter  is  comparatively  simple.  There  is,  however,  no  uniformity  in  these  records, 
and  consequently  much  confusion  arises  when  comparisons  are  made.  Each  superin- 
tendent tends  to  have  his  or  her  own  way  of  recording  data,  and  in  many  cases  does 
not  use  the  system  employed  by  his  predecessors.  In  some  unions  the  matter  of  re- 
quiring reports  from  teachers  is  carried  to  such  an  extent  as  seriously  to  hamper  the 
teacher.  In  one  union  each  teacher,  in  addition  to  keeping  her  own  records,  is  required 
to  send  monthly  reports  to  the  parents,  to  file  duplicates  of  these  reports  for  a  perma- 
nent school  record,  and  to  copy  the  names  and  standings  of  the  children  for  the  per- 
sonal use  of  the  superintendent.  At  least  two-thirds  of  this  work  is  unnecessary. 

One  of  the  serious  problems  in  every  town  is  to  devise  some  system  by  which  the 
progress  of  pupils  may  be  recorded,  so  that  new  teachers  may  know  where  to  take  up 
their  work.  When  teachers  have  been  asked  how  they  knew  where  to  begin  their  work 
when  they  first  entered  the  school,  they  have  frequently  replied  that  their  only  means 
of  knowing  was  by  asking  the  children.  The  waste  of  time  and  effort  in  the  rural 
schools  caused  by  going  over  the  same  subject  is  proverbial.  It  has  often  been  asserted 
that  keen  boys,  by  giving  new  teachers  the  page  at  which  they  began  rather  than 
that  at  which  they  concluded  the  preceding  term,  have  been  able  to  go  over  the  same 
subject  three  times  in  one  year.  These  assertions  have  not  been  verified,  but  such  con- 
ditions certainly  are  possible  in  many  towns,  some  of  them  in  unions.  This  situation 
is  sufficiently  unfortunate  for  the  childi'en  who  have  previously  attended  the  school, 
but  it  is  nearly  hopeless  for  the  children  who  come  for  the  first  time  from  other 
towns.  Often  the  teacher  must  try  to  grade  these  children  on  the  basis  of  no  more 


54  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

definite  knowledge  than  that  they  have  "  worked  arithmetic  in  a  book  with  black 
covers."' 

The  keeping  of  the  essential  features  of  school  records  and  reports  by  the  union 
superintendents  should  be  so  systematized  that  they  would  be  uniform  throughout  the 
state.  A  committee  of  the  superintendents  working  in  connection  with  the  state  super- 
intendent could  easily  arrange  such  record  forms.  They  should  call  for  essential  facts 
only.  The  keeping  of  records  involving  statistics  demands  a  special  ability,  which  is 
not  possessed  by  all  teachers.  When  compelled  to  supply  such  records  of  anything 
except  the  most  essential  facts,  the  expenditure  of  their  time  and  energy  is  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  value  of  the  results. 

In  matters  pertaining  to  the  actual  supervision  of  instruction  the  union  superin- 
tendents have  been  somewhat  handicapped.  The  schools  are  often  far  apart,  and  the 
roads  hilly  and  bad.  The  details  of  organization  have  demanded  a  great  deal  of  their 
time.  In  the  past,  moreover,  a  large  proportion  of  the  superintendents  have  had  no 
professional  training.  Their  experience  as  high  school  principals  has  not  contributed 
directly  to  their  understanding  of  elementary  school  problems.  In  some  cases  it  may 
even  have  given  a  distorted  notion  of  the  real  purpose  of  the  elementary  school.  The 
state  board  of  education  now  requires  professional  training  as  a  qualification  for  this 
office,  and  this  should  tend  to  improve  conditions.  One  of  the  common  methods  em- 
ployed by  superintendents  is  to  teach  classes  in  the  school  they  visit.  When,  as  often 
happens,  no  subsequent  comments  are  made,  the  effort  fails  to  give  results,  because 
the  teacher  is  not  convinced  that  the  class  was  handled  more  skilfully  than  by  herself. 
Several  teachers  remarked  that  they  did  not  know  whether  the  superintendent  was 
testing  the  pupils  or  trying  to  illustrate  better  methods  of  teaching.  In  a  number  of 
unions,  however,  there  is  unmistakable  evidence  of  efficient  supervision.  The  teachers 
and  the  superintendent  are  working  together  for  the  solution  of  problems  of  instruc- 
tion, and  a  real  professional  spirit  is  developing. 

In  a  preceding  paragraph  mention  was  made  of  the  emphasis  upon  the  formal 
side  of  school  work  as  distinguished  from  the  side  of  content.  Too  often  the  super- 
intendents have  encouraged  this  attitude.  It  is  much  easier  to  judge  handwriting,  the 
parsing  and  analyzing  and  diagraming  of  sentences,  the  accuracy  of  answers  and  pro- 
cesses in  arithmetic,  than  it  is  to  determine  the  efficiency  of  instruction  in  English 
composition,  history,  nature  study,  or  geography.  Not  infrequently  the  only  sug- 
gestions that  a  teacher  can  recall  are  that  the  children  should  read  with  expres- 
sion, or  should  sit  straight.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  teacher  was  conscious  of 
the  fact  that  the  children  were  not  reading  or  sitting  as  they  should.  What  she  most 
needed  was  help  in  arranging  conditions  so  that  they  could  read  or  sit  properly.  The 
superintendents  are  usually  liberal  in  praising  their  teachers  in  general  terms,  but 
often  they  leave  them  as  ignorant  of  the  excellences  of  their  work  as  they  are  of  its 
defects. 

In  particular  the  superintendents  are  accustomed  to  attend  to  the  products  rather 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  55 

than  to  the  processes  of  instruction.  The  purpose  of  supervision  is  to  improve  teach- 
ing, and  the  supervisor  should  be  governed  by  the  same  principles  that  govern  the 
teacher,  because  their  aims  are  the  same.  His  duty,  however,  is  the  more  difficult, 
because  while  he  adjusts  matters  to  the  pupils,  he  must  make  the  adjustment  through 
the  teacher.  On  the  other  hand,  the  teacher  is  concerned  only  with  the  pupils. 

It  is  unreasonable  to  expect  effective  supervision  when  teachers  change  positions 
so  often  that  they  cannot  become  fully  acquainted  with  the  conditions  under  w^hich 
they  work.  Neither  can  it  be  expected  in  those  unions  where  a  false  notion  of  econ- 
omy keeps  the  schools  without  sufficient  supplies,  or  leaves  in  them  such  a  variety  of 
texts  that  the  supervisor  cannot  possibly  adapt  the  work  to  each  of  them.  The  mak- 
ing of  a  course  of  study  is  not  a  brief  task.  In  many  cases  the  superintendent  has  no 
option  but  to  direct  the  teachers  to  complete  a  certain  portion  of  the  text  each  term. 

When  a  union  is  first  formed  it  is  inevitable  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  super- 
intendent's time  and  energy  must  be  devoted  to  administrative  details  connected  with 
organization.  The  tendency  will  always  be  strong  for  the  superintendent  to  remain 
an  administrator  rather  than  a  supervisor  of  instruction.  Escape  from  this  condition 
must  be  found  in  better  organization.  Some  of  those  who  have  held  office  for  several 
years  have  already  accomplished  this.  Many  of  the  statements  reported  at  the  time 
the  law  creating  this  office  was  passed  show  that  those  responsible  for  it  expected  that 
efficient  supervision  would  be  a  development.  In  this  they  were  correct.  If  the  present 
superintendents  were  to  leave,  their  positions  could  not  be  filled  at  once  with  a  group 
as  efficient  as  they.  It  is  now  reasonable  to  expect  a  large  improvement  in  the  character 
of  supervision.  Where  unions  are  well  established,  supervision  cannot  be  justified 
solely  on  the  ground  that  certain  externals  in  the  system  are  better  conducted.  The 
fundamental  object  of  supervision  is  the  improvement  of  instruction. 

In  each  of  the  unions  visited  some  form  of  teachers  meeting  was  held.  Sometimes 
all  the  teachers  of  the  union  meet  together.  Sometimes  the  teachers  of  each  town 
meet  alone.  In  some  of  the  unions  the  teachers  are  expected  to  take  part  in  the  con- 
ference and  to  speak  on  some  problem  connected  with  their  work.  In  others  the 
superintendent  uses  the  meetings  as  an  opportunity  to  distribute  the  supplies  and 
to  talk  over  the  work  expected  for  the  term.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  meetings 
are  of  little  real  value.  In  one  town  where  the  teachers  were  required  to  dismiss  their 
school  and  attend  a  teachers  meeting,  a  talk  with  practically  all  of  the  teachers  on 
the  follow^ing  day,  and  an  examination  of  the  notes  that  had  been  taken  by  several, 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  net  result  of  the  meeting  for  these  teachers  was,  first,  that 
children  should  give  the  proper  inflection  when  reading  sentences  requiring  answers ; 
second,  that  there  should  be  a  reading  lesson  at  least  once  a  week  in  each  grade ;  third, 
that  schools  should  be  kept  the  full  day  ;  fourth,  that  the  teachers  were  drilled  on 
the  names  of  the  new  members  of  the  cabinet;  and  fifth,  that  the  teachers  were 
drilled  in  parsing,  analyzing,  and  diagraming.  These  are  meagre  returns  to  expect  for 
the  salaries  the  state  and  town  paid  the  superintendent  and  teachers  for  this  day, 


56  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

to  say  nothing  of  the  loss  of  a  day  of  school  and  the  expense  incurred  by  the  teach- 
ers in  reaching  this  meeting.  There  are  a  few  teachers  reading-circles. 

Superintendents  who  have  shown  acceptable  ability  should  be  assured  permanent 
tenure  of  office.  In  every  case  their  dependence  for  office  should  be  removed  as  far  as 
possible  from  local  influences.  They  are  the  representatives  of  the  state  board  of  edu- 
cation, and  therefore  their  dismissal  should  depend  in  large  measure  upon  this  body. 
The  unions  should  be  responsible  for  the  selection  of  the  superintendents,  as  they 
are  now,  but  if  after  one  year  the  joint  committee  reelects  the  superintendent,  then 
it  should  be  possible  to  remove  him  only  on  direct  appeal  to  the  state  board. 

(g)  The  Condition  of  School  Grounds,  Buildings y  and  Equipment 

1.  Rural  Schools 

There  are  1662  schoolhouses  in  use.  Of  these  1366  are  one-room  buildings.  Owing  to 
the  shifting  of  population  and  the  consequent  union  and  discontinuance  of  schools, 
there  are  425  unused  schoolhouses  in  the  state.  These  unused  buildings  vary  from 
well-built  structures  in  good  condition  to  those  so  dilapidated  as  to  be  unfit  for  use. 
The  possibility  of  needing  these  buildings  again  often  makes  it  inexpedient  for  the 
town  to  dispose  of  them.  During  1911-12  only  15  new  schoolhouses  were  erected. 

The  estimated  value  of  all  public  school  property  in  the  state  is  about  four  and 
a  quarter  million  dollars.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  rural  school  buildings  in  Vermont 
will  compare  favorably  with  those  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  older  states.  They  are 
generally  kept  in  good  repair  and  well  painted  on  the  outside.  The  interior  is  not 
always  in  keeping  with  the  exterior :  the  floors  tend  to  be  poor,  the  ceilings  are  often 
much  discolored  with  smoke,  and  the  walls  are  in  need  of  paint  or  kalsomine.  In  gen- 
eral, the  school  buildings  under  direction  of  town  superintendents  were  not  found  to 
be  in  good  condition:  they  lacked  paint  and  sometimes  the  interiors  had  not  been 
cleaned  for  two  years;  the  outbuildings  were  unsanitary,  and  often  so  out  of  repair 
that  they  provided  but  little  privacy. 

The  rural  school-rooms  in  Vermont  are  commonly  lighted  on  three  sides.  When 
such  rooms  are  filled,  some  pupils  must  occupy  seats  that  are  not  properly  lighted. 
The  windows  are  generally  fitted  with  opaque  shades  hung  at  the  top,  thus  often 
covering  the  upper  half  of  the  window,  the  most  important  part,  and  rendering  the 
middle  of  the  room  unfit  for  study. 

Heat  is  usually  provided  by  means  of  box  stoves  that  burn  wood.  In  all  of  the 
schools  visited  there  was  a  generous  supply  of  good  seasoned  hard  wood.  Sometimes 
the  stoves  were  so  placed  as  to  be  a  source  of  discomfort  to  some  of  the  pupils,  or 
were  so  worn  out  that  the  smoke  became  a  nuisance.  Some  of  the  towns  have  installed 
hooded  stoves,  and  one  of  the  rural  schools  visited  was  heated  by  a  furnace  in  the 
basement.  In  only  one  or  two  instances  did  pupils  or  teachers  complain  of  inability 
to  keep  warm,  although  in  some  schools  the  seats  were  placed  against  the  walls. 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  57 

A  number  of  devices  are  employed  for  ventilating  these  one-room  schools.  The  most 
frequent  means  other  than  windows  is  an  opening  directly  above  the  stove  into  the 
attic.  Some  of  the  teachers  have  ingenious  devices  of  their  own  that  they  place  in 
open  windows  to  keep  the  draught  from  the  children.  The  most  satisfactory  arrange- 
ment seems  to  be  flues  in  connection  with  hooded  stoves.  In  some  places  the  towns 
have  gone  to  considerable  expense  to  put  ventilators  in  the  schools,  but  the  instal- 
lation is  unsatisfactory.  In  several  such  schools  the  ventilators  had  been  closed  with 
bran  sacks  because  the  children  complained  of  the  cold.  Comparatively  few  teachers 
know  how  to  use  the  ventilating  system,  and  in  no  school  where  the  system  was 
other  than  the  jacketed  stove  were  any  written  directions  for  ventilation  found. 

Most  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  Vermont  are  being  deprived  of  the  one  thing  that 
makes  city  parents  envy  the  country  schools,  that  is,  adequate  playgrounds.  Not  more 
than  one-twentieth  of  the  rural  schools  visited  had  a  school  yard  large  enough  for 
a  baseball  diamond,  and  several  of  those  that  were  of  adequate  size  were  so  rough 
or  marshy  that  the  children  used  the  road  in  preference.  The  schoolhouses  have  com- 
monly been  located  beside  the  road,  at  some  place  where  the  land  was  of  no  value  for 
other  purposes.  Some  of  the  farmers  are  generous  enough  not  to  object  when  the 
children  enter  their  fields  to  play ;  others  make  almost  violent  objections.  The  com- 
plaint has  been  made  that  the  children  in  the  rural  schools  of  Vermont  do  not  play, 
but  this  was  not  the  condition  in  the  schools  visited.  In  fact,  great  ingenuity  was 
shown  by  boys  and  girls  in  organizing  their  play.  It  is  no  small  feat  to  arrange  a  ball 
game  on  an  ordinary  country  road  with  its  deep  ditches  filled  with  water.  In  some  sec- 
tions of  the  state  certain  societies  are  trying  to  direct  the  play  of  the  school  children. 
The  value  of  such  efforts  is  open  to  serious  question.  Play  offers  one  of  the  best  op- 
portunities for  children  to  follow  out  their  own  ideas.  It  cannot  be  urged  too  strongly 
that  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  to  get  children  to  play  is  to  give  them  something 
to  play  with,  and  a  place  in  which  to  play.  The  law  makes  it  possible  to  condemn  prop- 
erty adjacent  to  schoolhouses  for  playground  purposes.  None  of  the  school  gardens 
that  were  observed  were  on  lots  that  belonged  to  the  school.  Few  trees  or  shrubs  have 
been  or  could  be  planted  on  the  school  grounds. 

The  outhouses  connected  with  rural  schools  always  constitute  a  difficult  problem. 
One  in  fifteen  of  the  rural  schools  visited  had  a  single  outhouse,  which  is  used  in  com- 
mon by  boys  and  girls.  The  location,  construction,  and  care  of  these  buildings  is  fre- 
quently unsatisfactory,  and  the  sanitary  conditions  are  generally  very  bad.  The  local 
health  officers  have  the  authority  to  compel  the  school  directors  to  keep  outhouses  in 
proper  sanitary  condition,  and  some  of  the  officers  use  this  authority  with  the  result 
that  such  towns  leave  little  to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  good  conditions.  The  health 
officers  are  required  to  visit  the  schools  at  least  once  each  year,  but  this  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  keep  them  in  touch  with  these  conditions,  and  teachers  often  do  not  know,  or 
hesitate  to  report,  such  matters.  It  should  be  said,  however,  that  the  many  evidences 
of  the  activity  of  the  state  board  of  health  in  connection  with  the  schools  indicate  that 


58  EDUCATION  IN  \1ERM0NT 

it  is  probably  proceeding  as  rapidly  as  expediency  allows.  Its  efforts  are  receiving 
increasing  welcome  throughout  the  state. 

The  old-fashioned  home-made  bench  and  desk  have  almost  disappeared  from  the 
Vermont  schools.  Commonly  four  sizes  of  unadjustable  desks  have  been  purchased,  and 
so  aiTanged  that  the  largest  are  in  the  rear  and  the  smallest  in  the  front  of  the  room. 
By  this  arrangement  few  pupils  occupy  seats  that  correspond  in  height  to  their  desks. 
In  one  to\vn  all  of  the  largest  seats  are  in  one  school  and  all  of  the  medium-sized 
in  another.  In  each  of  these  schools  there  were  children  of  all  sizes.  One  school  was 
supplied  with  the  largest  desks  obtainable,  which  fitted  none  of  the  pupils,  and  the 
smaller  children  wrote  with  the  desk  coming  close  to  their  chins.  A  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  children  use  seats  so  high  that  they  cannot  put  their  feet  squarely  on 
the  floor  while  sitting  upright.  Some  of  the  union  superintendents  have  themselves 
rearranged  the  seats  so  that  the  proper  desks  and  seats  are  together,  but  in  general 
school  officers  have  given  too  little  attention  to  the  matter  of  proper  seating.  Even 
though  nothing  were  said  about  the  influence  that  proper  seating  has  upon  pupils' 
health,  the  mere  matter  of  personal  comfort  would  make  seating  an  important  topic. 
Many  of  the  graded  and  some  of  the  rural  schools  have  seats  and  desks  that  can 
be  raised  or  lowered  to  suit  each  child.  The  first  cost  of  this  type  of  seats  is  some- 
what more  than  that  of  the  older  non-adjustable  seats,  but  they  are  far  more  satis- 
factory. 

The  teachers  in  the  rural  schools  generally  do  such  janitor  work  as  sweeping  and 
dusting  the  room.  For  this  they  are  paid  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  cents  a  week.  In 
many  cases  it  would  be  difficult  to  get  any  one  else  to  do  this  work.  The  floors  are 
neither  painted  nor  oiled,  and  as  very  few  towns  supply  anything  to  prevent  dust 
while  sweeping,  the  result  is  a  suffocating  cloud  that  settles  on  seats  and  desks,  to  be 
stirred  up  again  when  the  teacher  dusts.  During  the  winter  term  most  towns  employ 
some  one  to  start  the  fires.  In  one  school,  however,  the  teacher  was  required  not  only 
to  care  for  the  building  and  the  fire,  but  also  to  split  the  wood, — the  town  did  not 
even  provide  the  axe. 

The  common  drinking-cup  is  prohibited  by  law  in  Vermont.  The  children  are  ex- 
pected to  supply  and  to  care  for  their  own  cups.  A  majority  of  the  towns  provide 
some  kind  of  water  tank  w  ith  a  faucet,  but  there  are  schools  that  have  only  a  pail, 
into  which  each  child  dips  his  own  cup,  and  still  others  where  there  is  no  provision 
for  water  in  the  school-room.  In  only  a  few  schools  is  there  any  arrangement  for 
keeping  the  cups  from  the  dust  of  the  room.  The  "cups"  are  of  all  kinds.  Occasion- 
ally children  have  proper  sanitary  cups,  but  frequently  they  use  the  covers  of  their 
dinner  pails,  broken  or  cracked  tea-cups,  or  other  pieces  of  crockery.  Attention  is 
seldom  given  to  the  source  of  the  water  supply  for  the  schools.  The  children  merely 
get  water  from  the  nearest  source,  frequently  from  a  creek  or  w  ell  that  might  easily 
be  contaminated.  Some  of  the  local  health  officers  obtain  samples  of  the  water  used 
by  the  schools  and  have  it  analyzed. 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  69 

2.  Graded  Schools 

Much  that  has  been  said  regarding  the  physical  conditions  of  the  rural  schools 
would  apply  with  equal  force  to  the  older  buildings  of  the  graded  schools  in  cities 
and  villages.  The  rooms  in  the  newer  buildings  are  generally  well  lighted,  but  even 
here  opaque  shades  often  interfere  with  the  light.  In  one  city  school  building  the  ratio 
of  window  space  to  floor  space  is  only  one  to  six,  the  main  light  coming  from  the  rear. 
In  a  number  of  rooms  in  this  building  the  windows  are  equipped  with  a  parted 
wooden  shutter  that  cannot  be  remo^■ed,  but  always  occupies  one  third  of  the  window 
space.  The  older  buildings  are  very  frequently  without  even  the  semblance  of  venti- 
lation. The  air  was  almost  nauseating  in  some  rooms  that  were  visited.  In  the  newer 
buildings  care  has  been  exercised  in  installing  systems  of  ventilation,  but  the  mere 
fact  that  a  ventilating  system  has  been  installed  is  not  a  guarantee  that  it  will  be  used. 
Most  frequently  the  janitor  is  the  determining  factor  in  the  situation.  In  one  of  the 
most  modern  buildings,  where  a  first-class  system  of  ventilation  had  been  installed, 
the  condition  of  the  air  in  the  school-rooms  suggested  an  examination  of  the  basement, 
and  this  showed  that  the  fresh  air  inlet  had  been  closed  and  the  school-rooms  were 
being  supplied  with  air  drawn  from  the  coal  bins  and  toilets.  Very  unsanitary  con- 
ditions exist  in  the  graded  schools  in  some  of  the  older  buildings.  The  newer  school 
buildings,  however,  have  such  hygienic  conditions  that  some  of  them  may  well  serve 
as  models  in  these  respects. 

One  feature  of  construction  in  many  of  the  older  buildings  needs  special  mention, 
— the  spaces  under  the  stairs  leading  to  the  basement  have  been  enclosed  so  as  to 
make  small  storage  rooms,  which  are  often  used  by  the  janitors  for  waste  paper  and 
other  highly  inflammable  material.  Should  fire  start  in  these  places,  the  only  exit  in 
many  schools  would  be  cut  off".  In  the  newer  buildings  this  difficulty  has  been  met  by 
leaving  such  spaces  open. 

The  seating  in  the  graded  schools  seldom  presents  as  great  difficulties  as  it  does 
in  the  rural  schools.  The  children  in  each  room  are  more  nearly  of  a  size,  so  that  a 
great  variety  of  desks  is  not  always  necessary.  Many  of  the  city  and  village  schools  are 
equipped  with  modern  adjustable  seats  and  desks.  Some  of  the  schools  never  adjust 
seats  and  desks,  so  that  for  all  practical  purposes  they  might  just  as  well  be  fitted 
with  non-adjustable  seats;  others,  however,  make  an  effort  to  adjust  the  seats  as 
often  as  need  arises. 

Most  of  the  graded  schools  visited  were  well  cared  for  by  janitors,  although  here, 
as  in  the  rural  schools,  the  floors  were  often  neither  painted  nor  oiled  and  there  was 
little  use  of  sweeping  compound  for  laying  the  dust. 

In  most  of  the  school  buildings  where  running  water  is  available  some  form  of  drink- 
ing fountain  is  usual.  Where  this  is  impossible,  the  proper  care  of  drinking-cups  pre- 
sents the  same  problem  that  is  found  in  the  rural  schools. 


60  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

(h)  Supplies 

The  towns  purchase  the  supplies  and  books  that  are  used  in  the  schools.  In  every 
school  visited  there  was  a  dictionary,  although  some  of  these  were  so  dilapidated  that 
they  were  not  used.  Some  of  the  rural  schools  were  well  supplied  with  maps,  others 
had  only  a  map  of  Vermont.  Nearly  every  school  had  a  globe.  The  graded  schools 
were  usually  well  supplied  with  supplementary  readers.  Many  of  the  unions  have  also 
an  adequate  number,  but  some  towns  not  in  unions  are  almost  destitute  of  such  books. 
The  directors  of  some  of  these  towns  have  met  every  request  of  the  teachers  for  supple- 
mentary readers  with  the  statement  that  the  towns  had  no  money,  yet  they  purchased 
from  one  to  four  sets  of  a  comparatively  expensive  reference  work  sold  by  agents, 
divided  them  so  that  one  school  has  the  volumes  from  A  to  F  and  another  from  G  to  L, 
and  so  on,  and  instructed  the  teachers  to  use  these  volumes  as  supplementary  readers. 
A  number  of  schools  are  without  necessary  political  maps,  although  they  are  equipped 
with  unnecessary  blackboard  maps.  A  variety  of  texts  often  makes  it  difficult  to  keep 
the  progress  of  children  reasonably  uniform.  In  two  unions  the  superintendent  reported 
thirteen  different  arithmetics.  Very  few  towns  buy  second-hand  books.  In  all  of  the 
schools  observed  there  was  an  economical  use  of  whatever  books  and  supplies  had  been 
purchased. 

(i)  Consolidation  of  Rural  Schools 

Sparseness  of  population  in  many  townships  makes  the  conduct  of  schools  a  com- 
plicated problem.  Since  1893  the  state  has  encouraged  the  consolidation  of  the 
smaller  schools  and  the  consequent  transportation  of  children.  Schools  failing  to 
maintain  an  average  enrolment  sufficient  to  cause  them  to  be  recognized  by  the  state 
as  legal  schools  receive  no  state  aid.  The  state  furthermore  refunds  a  portion  of  the 
transportation  expenses  if  the  town  spends  a  certain  proportion  of  its  assessed  val- 
uation for  school  purposes.  In  Vermont  as  in  other  states  generally  consolidation  has 
met  with  decided  opposition.  It  has  often  been  feared  that  the  closing  of  a  rural  school 
would  tend  to  lower  the  value  of  the  adjacent  property,  but  in  no  place  where  con- 
solidation was  in  successful  operation  was  this  argument  considered  valid.  Often  three 
generations  of  a  family  have  attended  the  same  school,  and  to  close  it  is  a  somewhat 
trying  ordeal,  yet  when  once  the  parents  have  seen  the  advantages  that  consolidation 
brings  to  their  children,  they  are  even  more  enthusiastic  than  the  children.  This  is 
almost  universally  true  when  the  children  are  transported  to  graded  schools.  In  places 
where  transportation  has  not  been  satisfactory,  the  difficulty  is  often  due  either  to  the 
driver  or  to  the  conveyance.  Parents  charged  that  a  rough  boy  driver  had  taught  their 
boys  to  smoke,  and  tolerated  and  even  encouraged  disorder.  Older  drivers  were  some- 
times intoxicated.  Satisfaction  almost  always  follows  when  a  driver  is  either  a  father 
or  a  mother  of  some  of  the  children.  A  second  source  of  difficulty  is  the  type  of  wagon 
or  sleigh  used.  Wagons  may  be  so  crowded  that  the  children  are  uncomfortable.  In 
one  case  six  pupils  and  a  driver  used  a  two-seated  surrev,  a  little  girl  being  compelled 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  61 

to  sit  on  the  lap  of  an  older  colored  boy.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  some  of  the  convey- 
ances could  be  surpassed  for  discomfort  or  unsightliness.  Sometimes  other  loads  also  are 
carried  and  the  children  are  made  to  walk  up  hills  and  over  bad  roads.  Sometimes  suffi- 
cient blankets  are  not  supplied.  The  greatest  satisfaction  has  been  experienced  with 
the  "school  barges"  purchased  by  some  of  the  towns.  For  fall  and  spring  these  are 
spring  wagons  with  tops  and  side  curtains  for  protection  from  rain  and  sun.  The  seats 
extend  along  the  sides  and  are  cushioned.  For  winter  use  they  are  sleighs  with  closed 
tops.  In  none  of  those  observed  was  there  provision  for  heating,  but  the  drivers  had 
often  procured  soapstone  or  pieces  of  hard  wood,  which  they  heated  over  the  school 
stove  and  placed  at  the  feet  of  the  pupils  on  their  way  home.  These  same  objects  were 
heated  in  the  homes  of  the  pupils  in  the  morning  and  used  on  the  way  to  school.  Parents 
are  nmch  more  inclined  to  favor  the  transportation  of  older  than  of  younger  children, 
particularly  when  children  have  to  walk  to  some  central  place  in  order  to  meet  the 
barge.  In  a  few  cases  children  ride  as  far  as  six  miles  over  very  hilly  roads  and  must 
start  very  early  in  the  morning,  not  reaching  home  again  until  dusk. 

4.  Recommendations 

Many  of  the  conditions  described  in  previous  sections  require  no  further  comment. 
Two  have  been  selected  for  more  detailed  treatment  here. 

A  new  course  of  study  is  needed.  The  steps  that  have  been  taken  already  in  this  mat- 
ter are  mainly  in  the  right  direction.  It  is  not  possible  for  any  one  person  to  be  so 
fully  acquainted  with  all  parts  of  the  state  that  he  can  make  a  course  suited  to  all 
the  conditions.  Since  the  course  of  study  is  such  an  important  factor  in  instruction, 
it  should  be  made  by  those  primarily  concerned  with  instruction;  namely,  the  teach- 
ers and  superintendents,  with  the  advice  and  direction  of  the  state  board  of  educa- 
tion. For  this  purpose  experienced  teachers  and  superintendents  from  all  parts  of  the 
state  should  be  organized  into  committees  and  brought  together  at  an  early  date,  in 
order  that  the  general  principles  that  shall  govern  the  making  of  the  course  may  be 
fully  explained  and  illustrated.  Not  less  than  two  years  should  be  allowed  these  com- 
mittees in  which  to  prepare  a  tentative  course,  which  should  then  be  published  and 
tried  in  the  schools  for  a  year  in  order  to  remedy  its  defects  before  final  adoption. 
There  should  be  at  least  two  separate  courses,  one  for  the  rural  schools  and  one  for 
the  graded  schools.  Much  of  the  subject-matter  in  these  two  courses  would  be  the  same, 
but  the  suggestions  and  applications  should  vary  greatly.  The  various  cities  and  unions 
might  add  appropriate  modifications.  This  method  of  making  a  course  of  study  will 
require  a  careful  consideration  of  all  of  the  conditions  surrounding  the  schools,  and 
will  result  in  courses  adapted  to  the  needs  of  Vermont.  Incidentally,  it  will  greatly 
benefit  all  of  those  who  take  part  in  the  work  of  their  preparation. 

With  better  courses  of  study  in  use,  the  problem  of  improving  the  quality  of  in- 
struction involves  the  improvement  of  the  teachers  who  are  already  in  service.  In  the 


62  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

section  dealing  with  the  Normal  Schools  and  the  Training  of  Teachers  will  be  found 
recommendations  which,  if  followed,  will  tend  to  give  professional  training  to  those 
who  are  about  to  teach,  but  under  any  possible  system  it  will  take  a  number  of  years 
to  supply  all  of  the  schools  with  trained  teachers.  There  are  several  ways  in  which  those 
who  are  now  teaching  maybe  helped.  Teachers  meetings,  when  properly  conducted,  will 
be  of  great  assistance.  The  work  of  the  union  superintendents  will  likewise  be  effective. 
There  is  further  the  possibility  of  reading-circles  such  as  are  now  conducted  in  many 
states.  The  school  system  as  now  organized  is  capable  of  providing  all  these  means.  If 
there  were  definite  prospects  of  financial  or  professional  improvement,  many  teachers 
would  attend  efficient  summer  schools.  The  most  important  agency  in  the  improve- 
ment of  teachers,  however,  would  be  a  number  of  highly  trained,  capable  supervisors, 
employed  by  the  state  board  of  education,  who  would  spend  their  time  in  the  schools, 
assisting  the  teachers  and  demonstrating  proper  methods.  This  group  of  supervisors 
would  form  the  nucleus  of  a  highly  efficient  summer  school  faculty.  Two  summer  schools 
could  be  held  in  different  parts  of  the  state,  and  the  teachers  encouraged  to  attend  by 
the  state  undertaking  to  increase  their  salaries  a  given  amount  when  two  or  more  ses- 
sions had  been  attended,  and  either  increasing  the  life  of  their  certificates  or  changing 
their  grade.  These  supervisors,  further,  would  render  valuable  assistance  in  making  the 
courses  of  study.  Their  services  should  be  at  the  command  of  the  superintendents. 
They  should  be  women.  The  type  of  work  expected  of  them  could  not  be  so  well  done 
by  men,  and  the  tendency  would  be  for  men  to  become  mere  inspectors  of  schools 
rather  than  actual  teachers  and  supervisors. 

MiLO  B.  HiLLEGAS. 


IV 
THE  SECONDAltY  StHOOLS 


Synopsis 


I.  The  School  Material 

1.  Childrek  of  Secondary  School  Age 

2.  Children  now  in  Secondary  Schools 

3.  Children  not  in  School 

II.  The  Schools 

1.  Number  and  Size 

2.  Differentiation 

3.  Distribution 

4.  Physical  Equipment 

5.  Personnel  of  Administration  and  In- 
struction 

(a)  The  School  Committee 

(b)  The  Superintendent 

(c)  The  Principal 

(a)  Training  and  Qualifications 

(b)  Conditions  of  Service 

(c)  Supermsion 


!dJ  The  Teachers 

(a)  Training  and  Experience 

(b)  Conditions  of  Service 

(c)  Instrxiction 
6.  The  Curriculum 

(a)  Educational  Aspects 

(b)  Financial  Aspects 

III.  The  Product 

1.  Records  and  their  Function  in  Educa- 
tion 

2.  The  Unfinished  Product 

3.  The  Finished  Product 

IV.  Definition  of  a  Secondary  School 

V.  Vermont's  Secondary  School  Prob- 
lem and  a  Suggested  Solution 

VI.  Summary  of  Recommendations 


INTRODUCTION 

The  information  that  forms  the  basis  of  the  present  discussion  has  been  drawn  chiefly 
from  two  sources.  The  first  is  a  series  of  questionnaires,  that  brought  together  the 
essential  statistical  facts  relating  to  attendance,  withdrawal,  failure,  curriculum,  and 
program  in  the  schools,  together  with  the  important  items  in  the  training  and  pres- 
ent service  of  the  teachers.  Replies  to  these  were  secured  from  all  but  two^  of  the  77 
high  schools  in  the  state  and  from  many  of  the  academies.  Those  from  high  schools 
were  tabulated,  and  have  been  analyzed  in  the  following  pages.  The  second  and 
more  important  source  of  information  was  the  personal  visitation  during  parts  of 
four  months,  March  to  June,  1913,  of  36  out  of  the  77  high  schools  in  all  parts  of 
the  state  and  of  seven  of  the  19  academies.  Each  visit  usually  included  a  conference 
with  the  principal  and  attendance  upon  several  classes,  so  that  about  110  of  the  251 
full-time  high  school  instructors  came  under  observation.  Of  the  36  high  schools 
inspected,  18  had  four  or  more  teachers,  six  three  teachers,  seven  two  teachers,  and  five 
one  teacher;  five  were  remote  from  the  railroad.  An  effort  was  made  at  every  point  to 
avoid  purely  formal  standards  and  to  reach  a  just  estimate  of  the  final  inner  and 
local  worth  of  what  was  seen. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  treatment  is  limited  almost  exclusively  to  the  high  schools. 
While  it  is  true  that  these  are  of  primary  interest  to  the  state,  and  are  the  express 
object  of  the  enquiry,  there  is  no  desire  to  ignore  the  important  service  that  the  pri- 
vate academies  have  rendered  in  the  past,  and  are  still  rendering.  There  was,  how- 
ever, a  manifest  reluctance  on  the  paii:  of  certain  of  these  academies,  notably  one  of 

^  Windsor  and  New  Haven  replied  only  in  [>art. 


64 


EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


the  largest,  to  make  public  the  information  desired ;  it  was  therefore  determined  to 
confine  the  detailed  analysis  to  the  high  schools.  Except  as  a  matter  of  statistics,  this 
exclusion  is  not  so  important  as  might  at  first  appear.  Certain  academies  serve  a  spe- 
cial purpose  in  their  affiliation  with  particular  religious  bodies,  and  on  that  account 
hardly  fall  within  the  limits  of  this  study.  Most  of  the  others  are  in  all  essential  par- 
ticulars the  high  schools  of  their  respective  localities,  and  in  so  far  as  they  were  ob- 
served (Fairfax,  Craftsbury,  Derby,  St.  Johnsbury,  Lyndon  Centre),  are  in  a  general 
way  included  in  the  sum  total  of  the  impressions  set  forth  below.  In  many  cases  it  seems 
natural  and  desirable  that  these  schools  should  pass  into  public  control,  following  the 
procedure  already  repeatedly  enacted  throughout  the  state.  They  have  nothing  to 
gain  from  continued  isolation. 


I.  THE  SCHOOL  MATERIAL 

1.  Children  of  Secondary  School  Age 
No  accurate  statement  can  be  made  as  to  the  number  of  boys  and  girls  of  second- 
ary school  age  at  present  in  Vermont.  The  national  census  taken  on  April  15,  1910, 
gives  the  following  gross  figures: 


Of  School  Age 

At  School 

Ages 

Number  of  Children 

Number 

Per  cent 

Male 

48,328 

Male 

33,449 

69.2 

Female 

46,373 

Female 

33,396 

72.0 

6-20  incl. 

94,701 

6-20  iJicl. 

66,845 

70.6 

e-9 

25,962 

6-9 

22,951 

88.4 

10-14 

31,451 

10-14 

30,391 

9Q.Q 

15-17 

18,765 

15-17 

10,565 

563 

18-20 

18,523 

18-20 

Under  6  years 

2,938 
2,768 

15.9 

21  years,  and 

over 

918 

Total  at  School 

70,531 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  correlate  these  figures  with  the  returns  from  the 
school  census  taken  in  June,  1910,  but  without  success;  the  two  sets  of  data  are  clearly 
incomparable.  The  result  would  appear  to  show  that  the  school  census  is  untinistwor- 
thy,  especially  for  the  secondary  age,  and  the  same  conclusion  was  reached  as  the 
result  of  personal  enquiry. 

Taking  the  national  census  as  a  basis,  and  assuming  the  ages  from  15  to  18  inclu- 
sive to  be  the  normal  ages  for  secondary  schooling,  the  state  has  24,939,  or  in  round 
numbers  25,000,  children  to  educate  in  this  way.  If  the  organization  should  be  modified 
to  meet  the  suggestion  that  the  secondary  school  is  properly  the  school  for  youth  dur- 
ing adolescence,  this  number  would  be  materially  greater.  With  the  ages  13  and  14 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  65 

included  in  the  new  unit,  the  secondary  school  must  face  the  task  of  training  37,500 
children.  These  are  the  figures  for  1910,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  the  numbers  in 
1913  would  be  materially  different. 

Of  the  racial,  social,  financial,  and  educational  conditions  of  these  children  no  sys- 
tematic account  is  attempted  by  the  school  census.  What  can  be  gathered  from  the 
national  census  is  of  the  most  meagre  and  general  character.  It  is  only  when  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  nature  and  dimensions  of  its  own  concrete  problem  that  a  school 
can  hope  to  plan  a  solution.  A  thoroughly  satisfactory  school  census,  made  under 
the  supervision  of  the  superintendent  and  affording  information  of  real  importance 
about  the  children,  would  go  far  toward  bringing  school  and  children  together. 


2.  Children  now  in  Secondary  Schools 
It  appears  from  the  national  census  figures  given  above  that,  in  1910,  at  least 
11,500  and  probably  12,000  children,  from  15  to  18  years  inclusive,  were  attending  a 
school  of  some  kind  between  September  1, 1909,  and  April  15,  1910,  when  the  census 
was  taken.  This  would  be  approximately  48  per  cent  of  the  25,000  from  15  to  18 
years,  inclusive.  Of  this  number  a  large  although  uncertain  portion  were  probably  in 
the  higher  elementary  grades.  The  net  enrolment  of  secondary  pupils  from  the  state 
reported  in  high  schools  and  academies  in  Vermont  in  1912  was  6680.^  With  the  addi- 
tion of  186,  the  number  of  tuitions  paid  by  towns  in  extra-state  schools,  the  total 
becomes  6866.  This  total  excludes  such  students  as  are  attending  high  schools  or 
academies  independently  outside  the  state,  probably  few.  It  includes  students  under 
15  years  of  age  and  over  18, — a  very  considerable  proportion,  which,  in  the  various 
high  school  censuses  that  have  been  secured,  rarely  falls  below  a  sixth  of  the  attend- 
ance and  is  often  as  high  as  a  fourth.  With  the  above  total  reduced  by  one-sixth, 
therefore,  about  5722,  or  approximately  23  per  cent,  of  the  25,000  children  in  Vermont 
from  15  to  18  years  of  age  appear  actually  to  be  receiving  secondary  instruction  in 
schools  organized  for  that  purpose. 


3.  Children  not  in  School 
There  are,  then,  77  per  cent  of  the  children  of  secondary  school  age  whom  the  sec- 
ondary school  does  not  reach.  To  be  sure,  many  may  still  be  in  the  elementary  school 
waiting  for  legal  age  to  release  them.  Reasons  will  be  offered  later  why  they,  as  well 
as  those  below  them,  as  far  down  as  the  seventh  grade,  should  properly  be  in  a  school 
of  different  type  from  the  usual  elementary  school.  A  considerable  number  may  have 
attended  the  high  school  for  a  short  time  and  then  have  dropped  out  because  of 

*  The  state  statistics  for  secondary  instruction,  1912  (page  192),  give  a  total  of  9296  "advanced  students."  It  becomes 
evident,  however,  on  examination  of  the  items,  that  this  total  is  reached  through  duplication  and  the  inclusion  of 
students  in  elementary  schools.  From  the  same  report,  pp.  610  and  616,  5367  +  (1633  -  320)  =  6680 


66  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

failure  or  lack  of  interest,  or  possibly  because  of  financial  necessity.  Certainly  a  vast 
number  of  children  are  never  reached  by  the  secondary  school  at  all.  What  does  this 
mean  for  Vermont?  Is  it  a  rational  notion  that  all  children  can  profit  by  and  should 
have  a  formal,  well-planned  adolescent  education,  just  as  all  now  agree  that  all  chil- 
dren must  without  fail  be  given  a  thorough  pre-adolescent  education.?  If  a  kind  of 
school  can  be  devised  where  every  boy  and  every  girl  may  be  reasonably  sure  of  achiev- 
ing genuine  success  in  certain  profitable  directions,  where  they  may  have  the  attitude 
of  success  bred  in  them  as  a  habit,  is  it  worth  while  that  every  child  should  attend .? 
To  one  to  whom  the  affirmative  of  these  propositions  admits  of  no  doubt,  the  further 
problem  is  two-fold :  first,  so  to  organize  education  that  it  may  have  a  clear  and  un- 
disputed value, — that  it  may  reasonably  expect  a  successful  issue  with  every  child; 
and  second,  to  make  this  value  clear  beyond  question  to  every  parent.  The  parent  must 
be  taken  on  the  ground  where  he  stands ;  the  value  promised  for  his  son  or  daughter 
must  not  be  fictitious,  or  vague,  or  too  far  distant;  it  must  appeal.  Legal  compulsion 
for  the  secondary  school  age  may  come  as  a  social  safeguard,  but  it  is  far  better  to 
lay  upon  the  school  the  burden  of  making  secondary  education  so  vital,  so  indispen- 
sable to  each  child,  that  it  will  become  general  of  itself. 


II.  THE  SCHOOLS 

1.  Number  and  Size 

The  establishment  for  secondary  education  in  Vermont  consists  of  77  high  schools 
supported  by  public  taxation  and  19  academies  operating  on  private  foundations. 
These  have  all  received  the  formal  approval  of  the  state  superintendent.  There  will 
be  found  in  Part  III  a  table  showing  the  high  schools  arranged  in  four  groups  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  their  full-time  teachers,  and  indicating  their  enrolment  and 
official  classification  in  1912-13. 

In  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  of  the  5584  pupils  enrolled  in  Vermont  high  schools 
in  1912-13,  3586,  or  64.2  per  cent,  were  in  schools  having  four  teachers,  or  more; 
1095,  or  19.6  per  cent,  were  in  three-teacher  schools;  623,  or  11.2  per  cent,  in  two- 
teacher  schools;  and  280, or  5  per  cent,  in  one-teacher  schools.  Schools  of  one  and  two 
teachers  constitute  48  per  cent  of  the  whole  number  of  schools ;  while  if  three-teacher 
schools  be  included,  the  small  schools  make  up  70  per  cent  of  the  total  number.  This 
basis  of  grouping  has  real  significance  for  a  pi'oper  understanding  of  the  situation, 
and  the  detailed  treatment  which  follows  will  use  it  frequently. 

2.  Differentiation 

All  of  these  77  high  schools  are  closely  similar  in  type.  They  are  organized  in 
about  the  same  fashion,  are  based  upon  the  same  fundamental  traditions,  and  in 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  67 

general  have  the  same  aims.  The  curriculum  in  each  consists  of  the  traditional  col- 
lege preparatory  course,  or  its  close  derivative,  more  or  less  enriched  with  semi- 
vocational  opportunities  in  commercial  subjects,  domestic  science,  manual  training, 
or  agriculture.  The  method  and  the  spirit  of  instruction,  however  vastly  they  may 
differ  in  their  essential  quality  in  different  schools,  are  yet  remarkably  uniform  in  kind 
and  reveal  the  same  general  source. 

A  mechanical  differentiation  of  high  schools,  provided  for  by  law,  recognizes  four 
types  of  schools :  "  First  class,  a  school  of  a  four-years'  course  or  courses ;  second  class, 
a  school  of  a  three-years'  course  or  courses ;  third  class,  a  school  of  a  two-years'  course 
or  courses;  fourth  class,  a  school  of  a  one-year  course  or  courses."  In  accordance  with 
this  provision  there  are  at  present  57  first  class  high  schools ;  3  second  class;  15  third 
class,  and  2  fourth  class.  The  academies,  19  in  number,  are  all  of  the  first  class  but 
one,  which  is  rated  as  third.  A  classification  of  this  nature,  although  useful  and  consist- 
ent, is  unfortunate  in  its  tenninology.  "  Four-year"  schools  and  "  three-year"  schools 
would  be  clearly  understood;  "first  class,"  as  used  here,  is  inevitably  misleading.  As 
there  is  no  further  classification,  a  school  in  the  "first  class"  becomes  for  many 
minds  a  first-class  school,  which  is  quite  a  different  matter.  Seventy-four  per  cent  of 
the  schools  are  in  the  "  first "  class.  Only  one  two-teacher  school  is  not  so  listed,  yet 
schools  of  this  type  must  of  necessity  be  of  very  inferior  grade,  as  will  be  shown  later. 
Steps  should  be  taken  to  con-ect  this  confusion.  At  present  the  term  "first  class"  is 
undoubtedly  capitalized  for  false  advantage.  Parents  and  pupils  are  misled  as  to  the 
real  nature  of  the  institution,  and  discovery  of  the  truth  is  likely  to  be  a  rude  awaken- 
ing. With  accrediting  bodies  outside  of  the  state  the  names  give  a  wi-ong  impres- 
sion of  the  state's  educational  sincerity.  Worst  of  all,  it  is  important  to  note  that  the 
state,  by  such  definition,  sacrifices  its  most  potent  means  of  educating  a  given  com- 
munity to  a  true  idea  of  what  an  efficient  school  is.  A  genuine  classification,  on  the 
other  hand,  based  upon  several  counts  which  really  determine  efficiency,  would  arouse 
local  ambition  to  secure  the  highest  rating  obtainable,  or  would,  at  least,  reconcile 
a  community  to  a  low  rating  for  good  reasons.  A  skilful  use  of  state  aid  to  reward 
conditions  leading  to  a  high  rating  would  assist  in  bringing  about  this  result. 


3.  Distribution 
A  high  school  map  of  Vermont  shows  a  natural  distribution  of  schools  over  the 
state,  conforming  well  to  the  varying  density  of  population,  and  in  general  acces- 
sible to  the  regions  that  they  serve.  Ten  of  the  19  one-teacher  schools  are  well  off 
the  railroad,^  while  of  the  two-teacher  schools,  but  3  are  so  placed.^  All  the  other 
high  schools  are  directly  accessible  by  railroad  or  trolley.  It  is  not  without  interest 

'Benson,  Brookfleld,  Cabot,  Corinth,  Middletown  Springs,  Montgomery  Centre,  Pawlet,  Shoreham,  Waitsfleld, 
Weston. 

°  Chelsea,  Franklin,  and  Jericho. 


68  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

to  note  that  6  of  the  smaller  schools  are  about  three  miles  or  less  from  other  larsrer 
schools;^  and  that  15  small  schools  are  seven  miles  or  less  from  other  larger  insti- 
tutions.^ There  is  direct  railroad  connection  between  the  two  towns  in  each  of  these 
cases,  and  at  Winooski,  West  Rutland,  and  North  Bennington  there  is  electric  ser- 
vice as  well. 

4.  Physical  Equipment 

The  grounds,  buildings,  and  interior  equipment  of  the  36  high  schools  visited  were 
so  varied  as  to  make  a  brief  description  impossible.  It  is,  however,  this  very  element 
of  variety  that  is  chiefly  significant.  From  a  plot  of  ground  barely  wide  enough  to  con- 
tain the  building,  the  accommodations  range  through  all  degrees  of  spaciousness  to  an 
ample  campus  with  an  eleven-acre  lot  in  its  rear  for  school  gardens  and  sports.  One 
finds  buildings  varying  in  excellence  from  old  wooden  structures  with  high,  deep-set 
windows,  wretched  light,  and  worse  ventilation,  to  new  schoolhouses  of  admirable  de- 
sign. Unfortunately  the  new  is  not  always  admirable :  one  building  that  had  been  oc- 
cupied less  than  three  months  was  already  outgrown  in  some  respects,  and  was  full  of 
mistakes  that  a  state  inspector  might  easily  have  set  right  in  the  plan,  but  which  must 
now  be  endured  for  twenty  years.  The  toilet  facilities  were,  on  the  whole,  good,  but 
their  arrangement  was  occasionally  most  objectionable,  and  their  care  in  many  cases 
deplorable.  Children  learn  more  from  what  they  see  and  from  the  way  they  are  treated 
than  from  anything  they  are  told,  and  while  much  dogmatic  instruction  fails,  the  effect 
of  such  influences  is  sure.  Janitor  service  is  put  to  a  severe  test  in  March  and  April, 
when  the  schools  were  visited,  but  some  of  the  buildings  were  apparently  spotless,  with 
clean,  well-oiled  floors  and  clear  air.  In  others  the  janitor  appeared  to  be  active  only 
at  long  intervals.  This  negative  evil  is,  however,  preferable  to  a  proceeding  witnessed 
in  one  of  the  largest  schools  in  the  state.  Here  the  janitor  vigorously  swept  the  dry, 
unoiled  floors  in  the  midst  of  the  morning  session  and  as  pupils  were  passing.  The 
principal  declared  that  he  had  protested  repeatedly,  but  with  no  result. 

Equipment  for  instruction  is  present  in  the  same  extraordinary  variety:  one  "first- 
class"  college- preparatory  school  teaches  the  principles  of  physics  entirely  without 
laboratory  or  apparatus,  all  concerned  depending  with  a  mystified  resignation  on  the 
text-book.  Another  school  commands  individual  experiment  tables  and  a  fine  de- 
monstration theatre.  Improvised  devices  of  every  description  testify  to  the  ingenuity 
and  devotion  of  perplexed  instructors  and  the  "firmness "of  the  school  committees; 
while  here  and  there,  on  the  other  hand,  really  good  equipment  is  inexcusably  neg- 
lected. Libraries  vary  from  a  dictionary  and  an  encyclopedia,  supplemented  by  a  few 
volumes  loaned  by  the  teacher,  to  collections  of  several  hundred  volumes.  Here,  too, 
a  false  relation  seems  often  to  exist ;  some  schools  are  working  a  slender  store  of  books 

^  Hyde  Park,  Pittsford,  Proctorsville,  Royalton,  West  Rutland,  Winooski. 

^Bethel,  Gaysville,  Highsfate  Centre,  Newbury,  New  Haven,  North  Bennington,  Orleans,  Plainfield,  Proctor,  in 

addition  to  the  preceding. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  69 

almost  Ijeyoiid  their  capacity,  while  others  appear  wholly  oblivious  to  the  existence 
of  a  considerable  collection. 

It  is  apparent  to  any  one  viewing  the  situation  at  large  that  the  most  pressing 
need  of  the  whole  system  of  physical  ecjuipment  is  some  measure  of  standardiza- 
tion. Certain  effects  of  carelessness,  forgetfulness,  ignorance,  and  unwillingness  can  be 
counteracted  in  no  other  way  than  by  criticism  from  above.  A  poisonous  ventilation, 
or  a  disreputable  closet,  should  deprive  a  school  of  state  support  as  soon  as  discov- 
ered ;  and  it  should  be  impossible  for  them  to  go  long  undiscovered.  Such  functions 
of  state  inspection  are  obvious  and  easy.  The  profitable  use  of  the  more  difficult 
opportunities  of  a  general  officer  depends  upon  the  calibre,  expertness,  and  industry 
of  the  man.  The  best  way  of  doing  many  things  in  education  is  already  well  under- 
stood, but  it  is  not  easy  to  find  a  man  with  tact  and  persuasive  power  who  will  sit 
down  with  a  school  committee  and  convince  them  of  the  economy  of  ample  grounds 
for  a  new  schoolhouse;  who  will  revise  and  elaborate  plans  for  buildings,  or  sug- 
gest suitable  rearrangements  to  an  inexperienced  principal.  Yet  it  is  for  precisely 
such  aid  and  information  that  schools  should  properly  look  to  the  state  department, 
and  money  expended  in  personal  service  of  this  character  will  in  the  end  be  saved 
many  times  over. 

5.  Personnel  of  Administration  and  Instruction 

A.  THE  school  COMMITTEE 

In  the  absence  of  any  appreciable  amount  of  state  supervision,  the  local  town  author- 
ity becomes  the  ultimate  determining  body  in  all  school  problems,  and  is,  therefore,  of 
fundamental  importance.  The  limited  time  of  the  enquiry  prevented  any  extensive 
study  of  the  school  committee  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  secondary  school.'  Some  im- 
pressions of  the  character  of  these  bodies  were  gained,  however,  from  interviews  with 
their  members  and  with  school  officers.  In  fully  nine-tenths  of  the  cases  it  was  declared 
by  the  school  principals,  with  the  greatest  apparent  sincerity,  that  the  committee  was 
"a  good  one,"  "fine,"  "first  class,"  and  so  on.  In  most  schools  official  visits  from  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  were  rare,  and  the  principals  were  given  a  free  hand.  Finan- 
cial expenditures  were  invariably  closely  scrutinized,  and  the  chief  complaints  were  of 
what  was  considered  by  the  schoolmen  as  false  economy  on  the  part  of  the  committee- 
men. This  is  a  point  in  the  system  of  complete  town  control  at  which  state  supervision 
would  be  most  beneficial.  It  was  apparent,  however,  that  on  the  whole  the  school  com- 
mittees take  the  position  of  defenders  and  promoters  of  the  school.  An  able  prin- 
cipal or  superintendent  can  usually  more  than  hold  his  own,  and  can  easily  become  an 
educative  force  in  the  community. 


*  The  school  committee  is  discussed  further  in  the  study  of  the  elementary  schools. 


70  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

B.  THE  SUPERINTENDENT 

An  account  of  the  history  and  present  status  of  the  superintendency  in  Vermont 
and  of  its  relations  to  the  elementary  school  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  report. 
Thus  far  the  contact  of  the  superintendent  with  the  secondary  school  has  been 
slighter  than  with  the  elementary  school,  but  is,  nevertheless,  of  great  importance. 
The  efforts  to  place  the  entire  school  system  of  a  locality  under  a  single,  competent 
control  have,  in  many  towns,  broken  down  from  lack  of  funds.  To  add  suddenly  to 
the  budget  a  salary  larger  than  any  other  in  the  system  for  purposes  solely  of  super- 
vision has  been  too  great  a  step  for  most  towns,  even  in  association  with  others.  Con- 
sequently men  secured  at  a  minimum  salary  have  not  always  proved  to  possess  ade- 
quate qualifications.  As  was  to  be  foreseen  where  authority  was  not  defined  at  the 
outset,  friction  has  occurred  between  these  men  and  the  experienced,  relatively  well- 
paid  high  school  principals,  and  in  some  cases  still  exists.  Where  the  superintendent 
is  really  a  trained  administrator  and  the  stronger  man,  as  he  should  be,  he  has  domi- 
nated the  situation.  Sometimes  the  field  has  been  divided  amicably,  each  wisely 
profiting  from  the  other's  suggestions.  Undoubtedly,  in  a  period  of  transition  like 
the  present,  each  situation  should  be  arranged  on  its  merits  and  no  attempt  be  made 
to  push  theory  too  far.  It  is,  nevertheless,  beyond  question  that  each  community  or 
group  school  system  should  have  its  one  thoroughly  trained  supervising  head.  Espe- 
cially is  this  true  now  with  the  gradual  increase  of  emphasis  upon  the  social  basis 
of  education.  If  the  school  is  no  longer  to  be  the  luxury  of  the  selected  few  who 
can  fit  it,  but  society's  best  tool  for  making  every  item  of  humanity  as  broadly  and 
happily  productive  as  possible,  such  an  enterprise  must  be  in  charge  of  a  responsible, 
expert  mind  capable  of  viewing  and  meeting  the  problem  as  a  whole.  Only  so  can 
the  superintendent  interpret  efficient  education  to  the  public  and  create  a  public 
opinion  that  will  support  more  and  better  schools,  at  the  same  time  that  he  seeks  to 
develop  schools  increasingly  worthy  of  support. 

It  is,  moreover,  a  great  advantage  to  every  participant  in  school  work  to  have  lead- 
ership of  this  sort;  the  principal  of  the  high  school  is  not  the  least  benefited.  It  is 
almost  as  inevitable  as  it  is  an  unfortunate  tendency  for  an  ambitious  and  able  prin- 
cipal to  conceive  of  his  school  as  a  fine  machine,  the  first  business  of  which  is  to  run 
smoothly  and  with  apparent  success.  Pupils  who  do  not  take  to  the  traditional  sub- 
jects, and  hence  do  not  fit  in  the  machine,  make  trouble,  and  are  discarded  with  scant 
regret.  To  destroy  the  sanctity  of  this  mechanism  and  to  persuade  the  principal  to 
teach  children — all  children — instead  of  feeding  the  machine,  is  usually  the  task 
of  the  superintendent.  Further,  in  the  smaller  schools  with  rapidly  changing  princi- 
pals, a  superintendent  is  indispensable  for  the  continuous  success  of  the  school.  Of  the 
33  one-teacher  and  two-teacher  schools  that  have  been  in  operation  over  one  year, 
22,  or  67  per  cent,  had  new  principals  in  1912-13.  Even  in  the  first  group  of  large 
schools,  7  of  the  23  principals,  or  nearly  one-third,  are  new  men. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  71 

Thus,  that  the  town  may  have  an  intelHgent  and  responsible  head  for  its  whole 
educational  undertaking;  that  some  one  commanding  the  complete  situation  may 
be  in  controlling  relations  with  all  workers  in  the  system;  and  finally,  that  schools 
may  enjoy  a  steady  and  continuous  policy,  independent  of  rapid  changes  within;  — 
all  of  this  calls  for  a  strengthened,  unitary  superintendency,  including  the  secondary 
schools. 

C.  THE  PRINCIPAL 

(a)  Training  and  Qualijications 

The  facts  concerning  the  training,  qualifications,  experience,  and  present  perform- 
ance of  the  high  school  principals  in  Vermont  have  been  gathered  from  their  own 
reports  to  the  commission,  and  may  be  found  summarized  in  Part  HI.  From  this  it 
appears  that  of  the  23  principals  of  larger  schools  only  four  have  had  any  formal  ped- 
agogical training,  and  only  one  such  training  as  might  be  expected  of  a  professional 
educator  in  a  supervisory  position.  This  does  not,  of  course,  do  complete  justice  to  the 
situation.  The  median  age  of  this  group  is  high  (37  years),  and  the  development  of 
educational  training  for  supervisors  is  recent.  Moreover,  there  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  most  of  these  men  have  done  such  private  study  as  to  keep  them  familiar 
with  current  educational  movements  and  problems.  This  appears  clearly  in  their  w  ork. 
Nevertheless,  private  study  is  an  uncertain  factor  to  rely  on  when  thorough  train- 
ing can  be  had,  and  men  going  into  supervision  hereafter  should  be  expected  to  offer 
evidence  of  a  systematic  study  of  their  profession.  Six  report  no  training  whatever 
subsequent  to  their  college  course.  This,  if  true,  seems  difficult  to  excuse  in  a  day  of 
numerous  and  effective  summer  schools. 

Inasmuch  as  the  work  of  principals  in  Vermont  schools  is  largely  instruction,  it 
seems  appropriate  here  to  note  their  apparent  preparation  for  teaching,  as  far  as  that 
appears  in  their  reports.  These  show  that  of  the  90  subjects^  now  being  taught  by 
the  principals  in  the  larger  schools,  only  17^  received  fairly  continuous  attention  in 
their  preliminary  training,  that  is,  were  studied  more  than  two  years  in  college,  and 
became,  therefore,  in  a  sense,  specialties.  Seven  of  the  90  subjects  were  taught  with- 
out any  formal  preparation  whatever ;  the  instruction  in  12  depended  on  courses  taken 
in  high  school;  and  54  had  as  a  basis  less  than  two  years  of  college  work,  —  many 
of  these  but  a  term  or  two.  Three  principals  replied  ambiguously,  but  received  liberal 
benefit  of  doubt. 

Any  one  familiar  with  high  school  conditions  will  understand  that  these  returns 

*  This  number  is  the  agsresate  of  all  of  tlie  subjects  taught  by  all  of  the  principals.  Languages  are  each  considered 
as  one  subject;  the  different  fields  of  mathematics,  history,  and  science  are  considered  as  different  subjects;  com- 
mercial branches  are  grouped  as  one  subject.  Two  years  of  college  work  in  any  one  science  counted  as  advanced 
preparation.  In  mathematics,  over  two  years  of  college  work  in  any  form  of  mathematics  counted  as  advanced 
preparation  for  each  high  school  subject  in  mathematics. 

•  Latin,  5;  English,  4;  Mathematics,  3;  Greek,  2;  German,  1;  French.  1;  Chemistry,  1 ;  13  out  of  the  23  teachers  had  no 
"  .special"  subject. 


72  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

are  fairly  representative  of  the  whole  country.  The  demands  of  a  possible  teacher"'s 
profession  have  rarely  troubled  the  college  student  in  making  up  his  course;  he 
browses  ^vith  clear  conscience  in  many  fields,  and  when,  finally,  he  determines  to  teach, 
a  sharp  spurt  called  "working  it  up""  occurs  during  the  vacation  previous  to  the 
"teaching,"  if  not  indeed  frankly  in  course  of  the  "teaching"  itself;  and  shortly  he 
stands  forth — an  "experienced"  teacher.  Few  indeed  are  the  teachers  in  this  country 
who  have  not  been  through  this  process,  and  who  do  not  boast  of  their  results.  When, 
moreover,  the  teacher  achieves  a  principalship,  he  has  long  since  learned  to  move 
blithely  from  one  subject  to  another  almost  regardless  of  his  knowledge.  This  is  half 
expected,  as  the  principal  must  needs  step  in  as  substitute ;  but  not  seldom  the  sheer 
desire  for  variety  or  the  attraction  of  a  particularly  good  class  induces  a  teacher  to  lay 
utterly  incompetent  hands  on  a  group  of  pupils.  The  secret  of  all  this  is  to  be  found 
in  the  text-book  system,  in  some  few  respects  the  pride,  but  in  many  more  the  de- 
spair, of  sound  American  education.  It  is  delightful,  having  acquired  the  suitable 
pedagogical  manner  and  vocabulary,  to  assist  the  text-book  in  running  a  good  class ! 
Needless  to  say,  were  a  teacher  required  to  organize  and  to  present  his  material  ef- 
fectively, independently  of  text-book  compilers,  it  would  be  essential  for  him  to  learn 
his  lesson  years  instead  of  hours  before  the  recitation.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
greatest  need  of  American  secondary  education  to-day  is  thorough  reconstruction  at 
this  point, — the  preparation  of  the  teacher, — and  Vermont  should  meet  it  vigorously. 
Out  of  90  subjects  that  the  head-masters  of  the  largest  high  schools  in  Vermont  are 
teaching,  all  but  17  are  being  taught  with  a  formal  preparation  far  inferior  to  that 
which  a  German  secondary  teacher  receives  before  entering  the  university.  On  top  of 
this  training  the  German  puts  four  years,  at  least,  in  special  study,  largely  concen- 
trated on  the  one  major  subject  and  two  minor  subjects  that  he  expects  to  teach. 
Then,  after  a  full  year's  study  of  the  strictly  pedagogical  side  of  his  work,  and  an- 
other full  year  of  practice-teaching  under  critical  supervision,  he  is  ready  for  appoint- 
ment. Naturally  he  speaks  with  authority  on  the  subjects  that  he  teaches;  he  is 
not  allowed  to  attempt  instruction  where  he  cannot.  To  be  sure  his  Gymnasium  is  of 
somewhat  greater  range  than  the  high  school ;  he  stands  to-day,  nevertheless,  as  he 
has  long  stood,  a  profoundly  significant  example  to  the  American  high  school  of  how 
a  teacher  should  be  prepared. 

Sixteen,  or  20.8  per  cent,  of  the  secondary  principals  in  1911-12  were  without  pre- 
vious experience  in  teaching  or  supervision.  One  conducted  a  three-teacher  school,  seven 
two-teacher,  and  eight  one-teacher  schools. 

(b)  Conditions  of  Service 
The  conditions  under  which  high  school  principals  work  are,  on  the  whole,  an  im- 
poi'tant  criterion  of  the  level  of  the  whole  service.  Two  principals  in  the  state  receive 
over  $2000  a  year.  The  highest  salary  paid  is  $2400 ;  the  lowest  paid  to  a  princi- 
pal in  a  school  of  four  or  more  teachers  is  $1050.  Between  these  limits  range  the  sal- 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 


73 


aries  in  the  23  largest  schools  in  the  state,  with  a  median  at  $1500.  When  one  con- 
siders the  limited  size  of  the  cities  and  towns  where  the  schools  are  located,  it  will 
be  admitted  that  these  salaries  are  relatively  good.  In  only  seven  cities  and  towns  is 
there  over  7000  population ;  six  other  places  have  over  4000.  Unfortunately,  however, 
the  quality  of  personal  service  is  not  a  relative  matter;  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  em- 
phasized that  $1500,  which  may  look  large  in  a  town  of  4000,  is  not  the  equivalent 
of  $3000  in  a  town  of  50,000.  With  certain  undetermined  variations  due  to  local  con- 
ditions, towns  get,  in  trained  service,  not  a  relative  value  in  proportion  to  their  wealth, 
but  an  absolute  value  according  to  what  they  pay.  A  thousand-dollar  high  school  prin- . 
cipal  is,  after  all,  probably  worth  a  thousand  dollars.  And  a  town  that  concludes  to 
pay  $2000  instead  of  $1000  for  its  principal  can  be  fairly  certain  of  getting  an  arti- 
cle the  increased  value  of  which  is  commensurate  with  the  increase  in  price.  From  an 
absolute  standpoint,  the  salaries  of  principals  in  Vermont  are  low,  and  better  train- 
ing and  greater  skill  are  indissolubly  bound  up  with  greater  appropriations. 

A  further  important  consideration  that  conditions  the  success  of  a  principal  is 
the  continuity  of  his  service.  Assuming  that  he  has  ideas  and  initiative,  and  can  de- 
velop a  "policy"  for  the  growth  of  the  institution,  it  is  indispensable  that  behave 
some  time  in  which  to  w  ork  this  out.  He  must  have  a  chance  to  study  his  committee 
and  community;  to  understand  the  pupils  and  the  parents;  to  select  his  assistants  and 
organize  their  work;  in  short,  to  lay  out  his  campaign  on  long  lines  befitting  the  im- 
portance of  the  task.  Clearly,  the  man  who  is  principal  "  by  the  year,"  and  views  him- 
self and  his  work  in  that  light,  is  nothing  but  the  hired  man  of  his  committee.  What- 
ever he  does  must  of  necessity  lack  perspective,  coherence,  and  breadth  of  purpose.  He 
takes  no  root  either  in  the  school  or  in  the  town,  and  thereby  sacrifices  a  great  part 
of  his  potential  effectiveness. 

The  condition  of  Vermont  high  school  principals  in  this  respect  is  shown  in  the 
following  table: 

Tenure  of  Position  among  High  School  Principals 


Changes  in  5  years 
1908-12 

Changes  in  2  years 
1911-12 

Possible 
Changes 

Actual 
Changes 

Per  cent 

Possible 
Changes 

ActiMl 
Changes 

Per  cent 

92 

68 
70 
40 

22 
19 
40 
30 

23.9 

28 
57 
75 

23 

17 
18 
151 

7 

4 
11 
11' 

30.4 

23.5 

61.1 

73.3 

270 

111 

41.1 

73 

33 

45.2 

It  appears  from  this  that  nearly  one-half  (45  per  cent)  of  all  the  high  schools 
changed  their  principals  during  two  years, — the  larger  ones  to  the  extent  of  30  per 


*  Four  schools  have  been  organized  but  one  year  and  therefore  had  no  change  of  principals. 
*One  school  had  three  principals  in  two  years. 


74  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

cent;  the  smaller  schools  were  fairly  kaleidoscopic  (73.3  per  cent).  So  far  as  is  known, 
this  rapid  shifting  from  place  to  place  is  not  due  to  fickleness  on  the  part  of  the 
school  committee.  Natural  promotion  to  a  better  paid  principalship  or  to  a  super- 
intendency  seems  to  have  been  the  usual  course.  If  this  is  the  case,  it  becomes  clear 
that  this  weakness  is  economic  in  character;  a  better  paid  man  would  stay  longer.  One 
cannot  blame  a  school  committee  for  preferring  to  the  prolonged  services  of  one  poor 
man  single  years  of  service  from  several  good  men  in  the  making;  at  present  this  seems 
to  be  the  only  solution  where  funds  are  limited.  As  a  result,  the  school  committee 
must  furnish  whatever  continuity  there  is  and  seek  to  correlate  the  efforts  of  its  flitting 
servants  as  best  it  may,  while  the  children  must  be  contented  with  a  pedagogical  hash 
of  widely  varying  ingredients.  The  situation  is  a  strong  argument  for  a  permanent 
and  capable  superintendent,  but  even  he  is  far  from  being  a  satisfactory  substitute 
for  an  able  principal  through  whom  the  school  can  express  itself  year  after  year.  The 
real  solution  of  the  problem  lies  in  a  fundamental  reorganization.  The  institution 
which  these  communities  think  they  possess,  and  which  their  little  schools  now  feebly 
shadow  forth,  is  completely  out  of  the  question  for  them.  No  town  that  now  runs  a 
two-teacher  high  school  can  hope  to  finance  the  kind  of  secondary  education  that  its 
youth  deserve  and  ought  to  have ;  and  its  experience  with  its  principals  is  only  a  part 
of  its  failure  in  this  direction.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  each  of  these  towns 
could  maintain  an  institution  of  somewhat  different  type,  less  pretentious,  indeed, 
but  far  more  genuinely  effective,  where  an  adequately  trained  teacher  could  be  paid 
a  fully  adequate  salary  to  become  an  indispensable  fixture  in  the  life  of  the  commu- 
nity. Suggestions  with  this  in  view  will  be  found  in  a  later  section. 

(c)  Supervision 
The  primary  duty  of  a  principal  is  supervision,  an  increasingly  complex  task.  It  is 
clear,  however,  from  an  inspection  of  the  table  referred  to  ^  that  the  principalship  in 
Vermont  is  predominantly  a  teaching  position.  All  but  four  high  schools  require  20 
periods  or  more  of  class  work  per  week  from  their  principals, — an  amount  that  is  nor- 
mal for  full-time  teachers;  all  but  11  require  25  periods  or  more,  — the  maximum  for 
good  teaching.  In  all  but  five  schools  principals  are  teaching  three  or  more  different 
subjects  with,  presumably,  the  amount  of  preparation  which  that  implies.  In  all  but 
ten  this  increases  to  four  subjects.  Omitting  the  ten  largest  schools,  the  eleventh  may 
be  taken  as  typical,  with  an  enrolment  of  129,  an  average  class  membership  of  18, 
and  five  full-time  teachers.  This  typical  school  of  the  first  group  presents  the  spectacle 
of  a  machine  that  almost  runs  itself.  One-third  of  the  teachers  are  new,^  yet  the  direct- 
ing head  is  fully  employed  teaching  five  out  of  seven  periods  every  day  and  actually 
handling  more  subjects  than  his  full-time  assistants.  Schools  can  be  held  together 
under  these  conditions,  but  there  is  inevitably  a  large  element  of  waste,  of  friction, 

*  Page  70. 

*  In  twelve  schools  of  the  group  from  10  per  cent  to  75  per  cent  of  the  teachers  are  inexperienced. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  75 

and  of  maladjustment.  No  principal  so  employed  has  the  opportunity  or  energy  to 
make  a  proper  study  of  his  teachers  and  to  guide  or  reinforce  their  work;  and  it  is 
quite  out  of  the  question  for  him  to  attempt  an  adequate  individual  handling  of  the 
pupils.  In  the  larger  problems  of  school  poHcy,  such  as  promoting  the  influence  of  the 
school  in  the  community,  he  must  of  necessity  be  greatly  weakened.  Hence,  as  is  nat- 
ural, the  important  (juestions  fall  more  and  more  into  the  untrained  hands  of  the  school 
committee,  and  the  principal  becomes  merely  a  head-teacher.  As  such,  it  is  the  writer's 
repeated  observation  that  he  is  overpaid.  Between  his  salary  and  that  of  his  first  assist- 
ant there  is  a  difference  of  from  $300  to  $1300.  Yet  his  teaching  is  often  little  better 
than  that  of  his  best  assistant;  often,  indeed,  it  is  not  so  good,  and  is  rarely  so  su- 
perior as  to  warrant  so  great  an  additional  expense.  In  other  words,  in  these  "  head- 
teachers"'"'  there  is  going  to  waste  much  excellent  supervisory  ability, — capacity  for 
service  which  no  one  else  can  render,  while  they  are  performing  work  that  could  often 
be  done  as  well  or  better  at  one-half  the  cost.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  make  the 
average  school  committee,  composed  of  laymen,  understand  what  a  good  principal  is. 
On  the  occasion  of  the  writer's  visit,  a  principal  of  a  school  of  over  200  pupils  showed 
a  letter  received  that  day  from  a  school  committee-man,  criticizing  him  for  not  doing 
more  "work."  This  principal  had  a  regular  program  of  14  hours,  which  was  usually  in- 
creased to  17  or  18  by  enforced  substitution.  The  work  of  a  principal,  properly  done, 
ensures  that,  within  the  limits  of  his  appropriation  and  in  cooperation  with  the  supei'- 
intendent,  the  education  given  fits  the  community  in  kind  and  quantity,  that  each 
teacher  is  working  as  effectively  and  happily  as  his  ability  permits,  that  each  pupil 
is  so  placed  as  to  feel  a  sense  of  power  and  achievement,  and  that  each  parent  is  in 
sympathetic  and  intelligent  cooperation  with  the  school.  This  is  an  arduous,  difficult, 
and  time-taking  task,  and  it  is  vain  to  expect  its  performance  of  a  "  head-teacher." 

In  the  one,  two,  and  three-teacher  schools,  the  status  of  the  principals  is  so  nearly 
that  of  teachers  that  they  can  most  conveniently  be  discussed  under  that  head. 

Personal  observation  of  principals  in  35  high  schools,  accompanied  almost  invaria- 
bly by  an  extended  conference  with  them,  leads  to  the  following  conclusions :  They  are 
a  hard-working  and  wholly  devoted  group  of  men  and  women,  personally  attractive 
and  sincere.  Their  spirit  is  usually  progressive,  but  owing  to  recent  arrival,  inexpe- 
rience, or  overwork,  and  the  resulting  dependence  upon  their  respective  committees, 
many  of  them  are  not  progressing.  They  are,  almost  without  exception,  open  to  intel- 
ligent suggestion  or  sympathetic  criticism,  and  many  show  marked  eagerness  for  it; 
an  able  and  forceful  state  inspector  would  find  them  anxious  to  cooperate.  In  instruc- 
tion, as  already  noted,  they  are  not  greatly  superior  to  their  best  assistants,  except 
sometimes  in  the  smaller  schools;  for  the  important  duty  of  a  principal  they  find  little 
time ;  with  instruction  and  clerical  tasks  they  are  heavily  burdened  in  a  wasteful  direc- 
tion. Many  have  marked  powers  of  leadership  and,  if  given  reasonable  opportunity, 
would  prove  exceedingly  capable  supervisors. 


76  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

D.  THE  TEACHERS 

(a)  Training  and  Experience 

As  in  the  case  of  the  high  school  principals,  the  commission  received  information 
concerning  the  general  and  professional  training  and  experience  of  every  full-time 
high  school  teacher  in  the  state.  While  some  of  the  returns  were  indefinite  and  sus- 
ceptible of  varying  interpretations,  it  is  believed  that,  on  the  whole,  the  summary 
that  is  given  in  Part  III  fairly  represents  the  situation. 

Not  counting  the  principals,  87  per  cent  of  the  full-time  secondary  teachers  in  Ver- 
mont are  women.  The  median  age  of  the  group,  both  men  and  women,  is  twenty-six 
years.  A  majority  of  the  teachers  received  their  college  education  and  even  their  sec- 
ondary training  outside  of  Vermont, — a  situation  characteristic  of  the  past,  but  now 
being  modified.^  In  contrast  with  the  principals,  of  whom  but  25  per  cent  had  received 
any  pedagogical  training,  50  per  cent  of  the  teachers  have  had  serious  courses  in  edu- 
cational theory  or  methods,  other  than  history  of  education  or  so-called  "teachers 
courses"  in  various  subjects.  Four  of  the  number  have  done  graduate  work  in  educa- 
tion. This  difference  is  due  chiefly  to  the  large  number  of  young  teachers  who  have 
taken  the  educational  courses  off*ered  by  various  colleges  for  the  first  time  during 
recent  years.  The  fact  reveals,  furthermore,  the  strong  and  promising  inclination  of 
the  prospective  teacher  to  avail  himself  of  all  possible  professional  preparation,  and 
that,  too,  without  the  slightest  increase  in  his  formal  eligibility  to  appointment. 
Were  the  qualifying  authority  to  take  advantage  of  this  training  and  require  a  given 
amount  of  appropriate  professional  study  for  all  candidates  for  certificates,  it  would 
foster  an  already  strong  and  highly  desirable  tendency.  In  respect  to  experience, 
the  returns  for  the  year  1912-13  show  that  19.4  per  cent  of  the  175  teachers  were 
teaching  in  secondary  schools  for  the  first  time.  The  number  who  were  inexperienced 
in  1911-12  and  are  still  teaching  in  Vermont  high  schools  is  26,  or  14.9  per  cent. 
Among  the  23  larger  schools  the  percentage  of  inexperience  is  13.8  per  cent;  among 
the  two  and  three-teacher  schools  it  is  22  per  cent  and  38.2  per  cent  respectively. 

(b)  Conditions  of  Service 

General  conditions  of  service  as  applied  to  teachers  measure  the  character  of  a 
school  system  even  more  effectively  than  in  the  case  of  the  principals.  Stability  of  ten- 
ure, reasonable  requirements  permitting  and  demanding  self-development,  an  expert 
supervisor  to  make  a  teacher's  work  count,  and  an  adequate  salary  to  ensure  growth 
and  security, — all  these  are  conditions  on  which  efficiency  thrives,  and  without  which 
it  is  well-nigh  impossible.  Vermont  high  schools  are  open  to  criticism  in  all  of  these 
respects. 

Changes  in  personnel  in  1912  numbered  67  out  of  a  possible  175,  or  38.3  per  cent. 
The  schools  of  four  teachers  or  more  showed  31.7  per  cent  of  new  teachers;  the  three- 

*  See  table  in  Part  III. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  77 

teacher  schools,  52.9  per  cent;  the  two-teacher  schools,  55.5  per  cent;  and  the  one- 
teacher  schools,  73.3  per  cent.  Three  schools  of  the  first  group  had  no  new  teachers^ 
eight  had  50  per  cent  or  over;  the  median  number  of  new  teachers  in  the  first  group 
was  33.3  per  cent.  If  it  be  assumed  that  the  figures  quoted  represent  changes  ^  rather 
than  additions,  and  that  they  are  typical  of  any  year,^  it  would  appear  that  Vermont's 
23  largest  schools  undergo  changes  equal  to  their  entire  teaching  staff  slightly  oftener 
than  once  in  four  years;  the  smaller  schools,  once  in  two  years.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  these  are  full-time  teachers  only,  dealing  with  the  main  branches  of  instruction, 
it  is  clear  that  the  effect  of  this  continual  migration  is  serious.  A  boy  at  graduation 
would  bid  farewell  to  no  one  of  the  teachers  who  greeted  him  when  he  entered.  Or,  if 
one  or  two  standbys  remain,  other  departments  have  witnessed  annual  substitutions. 
This  means  a  continual  change  in  methods  and  personalities  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  same  subjects.  "Getting  used  to  the  teacher"  is  a  continuous  task  for  the  pupil, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  different  procedure  of  the  "  last  teacher  "  constitutes  a 
no  less  continuous  problem  for  the  next.  With  such  incessant  shifts  at  its  vital  parts, 
a  school  simply  cannot  come  to  any  degree  of  self-consciousness;  it  has  no  texture  or 
coherence  for  its  pupils,  and  is  a  weather-vane  instead  of  an  influence  in  the  commu- 
nity. Could  a  staff  of  effective  high  school  teachers  really  strike  root  in  one  of  these 
towns  and  develop  gradually  to  the  full  exercise  of  their  powers,  the  town  could  have 
no  greater  permanent  factor  in  its  progress. 

A  table  in  Part  IH  gives  the  average  number  of  class  recitations  per  week  taught 
by  the  full-time  teachers  in  each  school.  The  limits  within  which  a  teacher  may  be  ex- 
pected to  do  a  high  gi*ade  of  work  naturally  vary  with  the  character  of  the  subjects 
taught,  the  amount  of  special  preparation  necessary,  the  quantity  of  written  work 
to  be  reviewed  and  corrected,  and  the  number  of  individual  problems,  the  amount  of 
bookkeeping,  and  the  strain  of  class  attention  which  the  size  of  the  class  involves.  It 
is  generally  agreed,  however,  that,  with  a  normal  class  membership  of  20  to  25,  no 
teacher  can  hope  to  give  successful  secondary  instruction  with  a  program  of  more 
than  25  class  periods  per  week,  and  20  is  much  better.  For  teachers  of  English  under 
present  methods  even  this  latter  number  should  be  reduced.  Beyond  25  periods,  qual- 
ity deteriorates  rapidly  and  gives  place  to  the  merest  hack  work,  however  well  meant. 
It  is  assumed,  furthermore,  in  setting  up  this  maximum,  that  a  teacher  is  teaching  one 
or  two  groups  of  subjects  for  which  he  has  had  special  preparation.  Thi'ee  classes  of 
Latin  and  two  of  German  constitute  a  program  preferable  in  all  respects  to  five  classes 
of  Latin;  but  good  work  cannot  be  done  with  a  program  made  up  of  senior  Latin, 
junior  physics,  second-year  history,  first -year  English,  and  algebra.  It  is  only  necessary 

'  To  what  extent  these  are  additions  instead  of  chan.ores  is  uncertain.  High  school  enrolment  in  the  schools  here  in- 
cluded shows  a  net  gain  of  but  44  pupils  in  1912-13  over  1911-12.  It  is  not  likely,  therefore,  that  the  corps  of  teachers 
has  materially  increased.  The  report  of  the  sbite  superintendent  for  1912  (page  611)  gives  the  number  of  teachers 
in  1911-12  as  269,  which,  with  correction  for  training-class  teachers  (here  omitted)  and  Fairfax  (here  included 
among  academies),  is  about  the  present  number ;  but  it  is  not  known  whether  these  were  all  strictly  full-time  teach- 
ers. There  are  no  exact  data  covering  this  point. 
*  26.8  per  cent  of  the  present  (1912-13)  teachers  in  the  larger  schools  were  new  to  their  positions  in  1911-12. 


78  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

to  glance  at  the  table  mentioned  to  see  how  Vermont  high  school  requirements  com- 
pare with  this  standard ;  60  of  the  77  schools  are  burdening  their  teachers  with  an 
amount  and  variety  of  work  which  makes  excellence  impossible.  Unfortunately,  a  low 
quality  of  teaching  is  not  readily  detected  by  the  lay  mind,  and  under  such  conditions 
formalism,  cant,  and  ignorance  are  likely  to  overcome  the  best  intentions. 

In  speaking  of  the  principals,  notice  was  taken  of  their  limited  opportunity  for 
supervision.  This  situation  reacts  first  and  most  disastrously  upon  the  teachers.  At 
the  present  time,  in  spite  of  the  increase  of  more  or  less  conventional  courses  in  the 
theory  of  education,  few  colleges  or  universities  supply  the  opportunity  for  what  must 
be  considered  the  least  dispensable  portion  of  a  teacher's  training,  namely,  practice- 
teaching  under  expert  criticism.  The  average  teacher  is  rarely  so  fortunate  as  to  teach 
only  such  subjects  as  he  has  thoroughly  prepared  in  college,  and  his  professional  tech- 
nique consists  of  a  dim  composite  consciousness  of  all  the  varieties  of  instruction  that 
he  himself  has  enjoyed.  He  begins,  therefore,  with  college  methods,  because  they  are 
freshest  in  his  mind.  To  protect  his  scholars  from  injury  and  loss  of  time,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  an  inexperienced  teacher  has  a  right  to  expect  constant  and  intelligent 
criticism  and  advice  based  upon  the  careful  observations  of  his  principal.  For  this, 
Vermont  principals,  except  four,  have  no  time,  so  that  the  young  teacher  inevitably 
stumbles  along  with  procedures  that  are  ci-ude  or  wrong,  and  must  stand  or  fall  on 
the  somewhat  coarse  and  inadequate  issues  of  whether  he  can  "  govern  "  or  is  popular. 
The  real  waste  for  the  pupils  can  only  be  imagined. 

In  respect  to  salary,  finally,  the  same  observations  hold  as  in  the  case  of  the  princi- 
pals.^ The  median  salary  of  full-time  teachers  in  the  23  largest  high  schools  in  Ver- 
mont is  $650  per  year.  The  most  liberal  school  in  the  group  pays  $844;  the  lowest 
average  paid  by  a  school  with  four  or  more  teachers  is  $431.  These  are  by  no  means 
minimum  salaries  for  towns  of  this  size;  but  even  at  these  salaries  good  teachers 
cannot  often  be  secured,  much  less  retained.  Vermont  is  still  paying  "wages"  to  her 
teachers  instead  of  salaries,  and  the  smaller  towns  bargain  blindly  in  that  spirit. 
Adding  $100  to  a  salary  under  $1000  earns  a  return  out  of  all  proportion  to  its 
absolute  value,  and  the  town  paying  $431  could  increase  the  effectiveness  of  its 
teachers  enormously  by  dividing  $400  more  among  them.  Among  the  three-teacher 
schools,  $625  is  the  maximum  average,  while  one  three-teacher  school  pays  its  assist- 
ants less  than  .$10  per  week.  Two-teacher  schools  show  a  maximum  and  minimum  of 
$550  and  $360  respectively.  Certainly  the  scale  of  salaries  paid  should  form  a  capital 
item  in  any  future  scheme  for  approval  or  classification  of  high  schools. 

(c)  Instruction 
The  questions  of  what  is  taught  and  how  well  it  is  taught  are  of  course  fundamen- 
tally important.  The  curriculum  will  be  discussed  later.  The  writer's  impressions  of 
the  way  in  which  it  is  applied  were  drawn  from  contact  with  ninety -five  teachers,  who 

»  See  table  in  Part  HI. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  79 

were  met  in  short  conferences  or  in  the  course  of  class-room  instruction,  or  both. 
Estimates  based  upon  brief  single  visits  to  class-rooms  must,  indeed,  be  used  with 
discrimination ;  in  some  respects,  however,  they  are  as  conclusive  as  an  exhaustive 
acquaintance.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases,  the  personality  of  the  visitor  and  the 
purpose  of  his  visit  were  unknown.  The  call  was  intended  to  create  as  little  disturb- 
ance as  possible,  and  usually  made  no  apparent  impression  on  the  routine  of  the 
class;  the  caller  entered  and  retired  without  ceremony.  It  must  be  said,  as  a  result  of 
this  experience,  that  there  can  be  nothing  but  praise  for  the  personal  character 
of  these  teachers.  Almost  without  exception  they  gave  the  impression  of  being  high- 
minded,  naturally  capable  and  painstaking  men  and  women.  Deep  interest  in  their 
pupils  and  devotion  to  their  progress  and  welfare  are  qualities  that  go  far  toward 
making  up  for  any  possible  lack  of  information  and  skill;  and  in  such  qualities  Ver- 
mont teachers  are  peculiarly  rich.  In  the  quality  of  the  instruction  there  appeared 
almost  as  wide  a  variety  as  was  noted  in  physical  equipment.  On  the  whole,  it  may 
safely  be  said  that  the  work  done  is  honest,  faithful,  and  painstaking;  professional 
it  clearly  is  not,  except  frequently  in  the  half-dozen  largest  schools  and  in  occasional 
instances  in  the  others. 

To  be  rated  as  "professional,"  it  is  believed  that  instruction  must  possess  at  least 
the  following  features  in  considerable  degree:  first,  knowledge  of  the  subject-matter 
must  have  become  so  comprehensive  and  automatic  that  the  conscious  purpose  to 
instruct  may  always  be  uppermost  and  unembaiTassed ;  second,  class  procedure 
must  exhibit  a  reasonable  insight  into  individual  and  class  problems  and  a  skilful 
application  of  the  best  modern  experience  in  their  solution;  third,  the  perform- 
ance, both  of  teachers  and  pupils,  should  proceed  with  such  assurance  as  to  be  stimu- 
lated, or  at  least  undisturbed,  under  critical  observation.  Comparison  with  the  med- 
ical profession  in  this  regard  is  helpful  and  not  unfair.  To  the  surgeon  professional 
behavior  involves  a  technique  that  has  become  second  nature,  an  adequate  and  ac- 
curate knowledge  of  modern  surgical  methods  and  resources,  and  a  confidence  that 
is  finely  challenged  by  attendant  critics.  The  teacher  should  be  held  to  a  standard 
fully  as  high.  Instruction  in  Vermont  high  schools  is  exceedingly  vulnerable  at  these 
points,  as  it  is,  indeed,  in  the  great  majority  of  American  high  schools.  Most  of 
the  teachers  have  the  general  high  ideals  and  the  goodwill  bred  by  their  college 
course.  For  their  specific  tasks  they  are  untrained,  and  must  grope  their  way  either 
out  of  the  service  or  into  a  post  commensurate  with  whatever  skill  hard  experience 
may  give  them.  A  majority  of  them  are  teaching  subjects  in  which  they  are  ill  pre- 
pared; their  range  of  information  is  therefore  limited,  and  their  application  of  it  is 
likely  to  be  timid  and  forceless,  or  else  incorrect.^  There  results,  therefore,  to  an 

'  Full-time  teachers  report  themselves  as  teaching  an  aggreg-ate  of  581  subjects,  in  39  per  cent  of  which  they  have  had 
two  years  or  more  of  college  preparation;  in  42  per  cent  they  have  had  less  than  two  years,  usually  in  scattered  courses; 
14per  certt  rest  on  high  school  courses,  and  5  percent  had  no  formal  preparation.  It  is,  of  course,  not  impossible  that  a 
teacher  has  fitted  himself  privately  in  a  course  for  which  he  has  had  but  elementary  formal  preparation  ;  also  that 
there  may  be  teachers  with  so-called  "advanced"  preparation  who  are  much  less  successful  with  it  than  others  with 


80  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

extreme  degree,  the  great  American  pedagogical  vice,  —  slavish  dependence  upon  a 
text-book.  ^ 

Under  such  conditions  teaching  is  not  instruction;  it  is  assigning  pages,  hearing 
lessons,  and  recording  "marks."  Forty  periods  of  this  sort  of  recitation  per  week  are 
not  exhausting ;  while  really  to  instruct  demands  power  and  nerve,  and  few  normal 
minds  can  retain  their  vigor  under  more  than  20  to  25  periods  of  it  per  week.  The 
conditions  indicated  are  reflected  unerringly  in  the  class  work.  Instead  of  striding 
forward  with  the  confidence  of  sure  knowledge  and  trusted  power,  as  every  group 
of  youth  loves  to  do  if  expertly  led,  the  classes  creep;  response  is  slow  and  furtive; 
answers  have  to  be  "pumped"  or  suggested,  and  spontaneous  reaction  to  the  con- 
tent of  the  lesson  is  unusual.  The  effect  of  this  on  the  pupil  is  depressing  or  harden- 
ing. In  so  far  as  instruction  fails  to  arouse  a  genuine  interest  and  develop  a  pleasur- 
able sense  of  power,  it  is  not  only  negatively  useless,  it  is  a  positive  discouragement 
to  a  child's  education,  however  loyal  he  may  be  to  the  teacher  personally.  The  waste 
at  this  point  is  certainly  very  large.  Part  of  the  blame  is  unquestionably  due  to  the 
cumculum,  although  even  so  it  is  the  very  essence  of  non-professionalism  to  be  help- 
less in  the  grip  of  a  rigid  curriculum.  Part  of  the  blame  is- no  doubt  due  to  the  mal- 
adjustment by  which  children  are  in  courses  that  they  have  no  business  to  attempt. 
Even  for  that  part  of  the  waste  for  which  the  teachers  are  clearly  responsible  they 
cannot  be  said  to  be  culpable.  Few  of  them  have  ever  had  the  opportunity  of  observ- 
ing skilful  secondary  instructioti  with  a  view  to  studying  it  as  such,  and  practically 
none  has  ever  practised  teaching  under  skilled  criticism.  A  defective  system  that 
permits  them  to  teach  what  they  have  not  studied  thoroughly,  and,  providing  no  crit- 
ical leader,  loads  them  with  an  excessive  number  of  classes,  does  the  rest. 

The  remedy  for  these  conditions  seems  axiomatic, — the  same  remedy  that  has  been 
efficacious  in  all  successful  school  systems.  First,  require  that  the  teachers  know  thor- 
oughly the  subjects  they  propose  to  teach.  Second,  require  them  to  teach  only  those 
subjects.  The  first  point,  furthermore,  involves  a  factor  of  great  weight  that  is  worthy 
of  capital  emphasis.  No  man  proposes  to  entrust  his  body  to  a  surgeon  who  has  seen 
no  hospital  practice  or  never  attended  a  clinic;  in  medicine  we  are  certain  that  book 
knowledge  is  but  a  very  partial  element  in  practical  skill.  There  would  seem  to  be 
no  more  reason  why  one  should  entrust  a  child  to  be  taught  to  a  person  who  has  no 
clear  consciousness  of  what  successful  instruction  is,  and  has  never  actually  done  the 
work  with  a  competent  critic  at  hand  to  tell  him  wherein  he  was  successful  and 
wherein  not. 


a  mere  hiijh  school  fitting  or  no  formal  training  at  all.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  stronsly  prot)al)le  that  the  above 
figures  represent  the  general  level  of  professional  training  with  fair  accuracy. 

'  This  is  as  true  of  those  who  know  the  lesson  "  without  looking  "  as  of  those  who  scan  the  book  for  answers,  and 
the  latter  are  not  rare.  Any  teacher  who  has  not  acquired  from  many  sources  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  his 
subject  apart  from  any  books,  who  has  not  thoroughly  organized  it  in  his  own  thought,  and  who  cannot  intelli- 
gently and  confidently  readjust  it  to  the  current  needs  of  a  given  group  is  open,  in  some  degree,  to  this  charge. 


THE  SECOxNDARY  SCHOOLS 


81 


Classical  Course 

Latin  Course 

English  Course 

Required :  (76)^ 

Required :  (60) 

Required :  (42) 

Eiifclish,  i-iv 

12 

English,  i-iv 

12 

English,  I-IV 

12 

Algebra,  i 

5 

Algebra,  i 

6 

Algebra,  i 

5 

Geometry,  ii 

5 

Geometry,  ii 

6 

Geometry,  ii 

5 

Ancient  History,  i 

5 

Ancient  History,  i 

6 

Ancient  History,  i 

5 

Liitin,  i-iv 

20 

Latin,  i-iv 

20 

Phys.  Geog.  &  Adv.Phys. 

Greek,  ii-iv 

16 

Rev.  Math.,  iv 

3 

or  Botany,  i 

6 

Mod.  Lang.,  iii,  iv 

10 

Elective:  (26) 

Mod.  Language,  in,  iv 

10 

Rev.  Math.,  iv 

8 

Modern  Language,  n- 

IV 

16 

Elective:  (30) 

2d  Modern  Language, 

IV 

6 

Modern  Language,  ii 

5 

Med.  &  Mod.  History, 

II 

6 

Med.  &  Mod.  History,  ii 

6 

Com.  Arith.  &  Botany 

.  J' 

6 

Com.  Arith.  &  Botany,  ii 

1  5 

Physics,  III,  IV 

6 

Physics,  III 

5 

Chemistry,  iv 

6 

Chemistry,  iv 

5 

Adv.  Alg.  &  SoL  Geom. 

,11] 

[  5 

Eng.  Hist.  &  Com.  Law,  III 
Adv.  Alg.&  Sol. Geom., Ill 
Am.  Hist.  &  Civics,  iv 
Astron.  &  Geol.,  iv 

r  5 
5 
5 
5 

6.  The  Curriculum 

a.  educational  aspects 

The  curriculum  at  present  in  use  in  Vermont  high  schools  is  based  largely  upon 

a  series  of  courses  drawn  up  by  a  committee  of  the  Vermont  Schoolmasters''  Club, 

and  approved  and  published  by  the  Department  of  Education  in  July,  1907.  It  is 

as  follows: 

Commeroial   Course 

Required :  (57) 
English,  I-IV  12 

Algebra,  i  5 

Geometry,  ii  5 

Ancient  History,  i  6 

Com.  Geog.  &  Cor.,  i  5 

Bookkeeping  &  Com. 

Arith.,  II  6 

Stenog.  &  Type.,  in,  iv  10 
Eng.  Hist. &Com.  Law,  III  6 
Adv.Ara.Hist.&Civics,iv  6 
Elective:  (15) 

Med.  &  Mod.  History,  ii  5 
Mod.  Language,  ii-iv  16 
Physics,  III  5 

Chemistry,  iv  5 

Adv.  Alg.&  Sol. Geom.,  iii  6 
Astron.  &  Geol.,  iv  6 

These  courses  are  published  as  "suggestive  rather  than  compulsory,""  but  with 
minor  variations  they  are  very  generally  followed.^  The  first,  the  classical  course, 
has  practically  disappeared.  Greek,  its  distinguishing  feature,  is  taught  in  but  eight 
schools  to  a  total  of  38  pupils.  The  Latin  course  is  at  present  the  mainstay  of  Ver- 
mont's secondary  system  of  education :  only  two  schools  give  no  Latin ;  41  per  cent 
of  the  total  high  school  enrolment  (1912-13)  are  studying  Latin,  and  54  percent 
of  the  freshmen  are  entered  in  that  course.  The  two  remaining  courses,  the  English 
course  and  the  commercial  course,  enrolled  in  1911-12  respectively  38  per  cent  and 
16.9  per  cent  of  the  pupils.  The  former  is  found  in  all  schools,  and  constitutes  the 
minimum  undertaking  of  a  high  school ;  the  latter  appears  in  its  complete  foi-m  (i.e., 
covering  four  years  and  including  stenography,  typewriting,  etc.)  in  19  schools, 
while  courses  in  bookkeeping  are  given  to  advanced  classes  in  four  additional  schools, 
and  to  the  first  and  second  year  pupils  in  21  more.  Thirty-three  schools  teach  no 
commercial  subjects.^ 

^  Arabic  numerals  indicate  periods  per  week  of  recitation  through  the  year.  Roman  numerals  indicate  the  year  or 
years  of  the  course  when  the  subject  after  which  they  stand  is  required  or,  if  elective,  becomes  available;  "  iv  "  is 
the  senior  year. 

2  An  action  of  the  Schoolmasters'  Club,  March  10, 1911,  approved  by  the  state  superintendent,  has  introduced  a  uni- 
form system  of  "credits"  for  promotion  and  graduation  which  furnishes  one  means  for  securing  greater  elasticity. 
This  is,  of  course,  a  desirable  step,  but  success  in  that  direction  depends  on  many  other  factors. 
^  These  figures,  except  for  the  membership  in  the  English  and  commercial  courses  which  was  calculated  from  the 
Vermont  School  Report  of  1912,  are  drawn  from  the  program  sheets  submitted  to  the  commission ;  they  show,  with 
the  aforesaid  exception,  only  what  was  actually  being  done  in  1912-13. 


82  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  nature  of  these  four  courses  becomes  clearer  when  one  compares  them.  In 
spirit,  if  not  chronologically,  the  last  three  are  all  derived  from  the  first.  The  Latin 
course  seeks  a  substitute  for  Greek;  the  English  course,  for  both  Latin  and  Greek; 
and  the  commercial  course  abandons  all  foreign  language  requirements,  introducing 
at  the  same  time  a  vocational  motive.  As  is  well  known,  the  order  of  educational  pres- 
tige has  been  the  same,  the  best  minds  being  directed  to  the  Latin  or  classical  courses, 
while  the  students  in  the  English  and  commercial  courses  lacked  distinction.  Four 
subjects  are  common  to  all  courses  :  English,  algebra,  plane  geometry,  and  ancient 
history.  For  reasons  of  economy,  schools  have  never  been  able  to  differentiate  in  the 
treatment  of  these  subjects  for  the  various  courses.  These  studies  were  necessary  in 
preparing  certain  pupils  for  college  ;  therefore  the  same  standards  were  established 
for  all.  This  well  illustrates  what  has  happened  to  every  branch  of  secondary  instruc- 
tion accepted  by  the  colleges  for  certification  or  examination.  The  feeling  has  been  that 
certain  pupils  might  need  these  subjects  for  entrance  to  college,  and  that  therefore 
they  must  be  taught  in  the  manner  and  amount  that  the  college  has  approved  or 
prescribed.  The  curriculum  has  thus  hardened  into  a  system  of  interchangeable  units, 
each  having  its  well-established  method  and  area  measured  with  sufficient  minute- 
ness to  afford  a  sense  of  relative  security — largely  theoretical,  to  be  sure — to  each 
school  and  college  official. 

From  its  utter  dependence  upon  the  higher  institutions  this  system  has  been  re- 
ferred to  as  the  "domination  of  the  college," and  it  clearly  is  such,  both  in  what  it 
accepts  and  in  what  it  rejects.^  It  has  become  so  wholly  a  part  of  the  present  regime 
that  few  teachers  realize  its  oppression.  Of  course  principals  sometimes  take  liberties, 
but  these  are  regarded  as  consciously  irregular  and  subject  to  apology.  This  domi- 
nation of  the  college  has  unquestionably  brought  many  benefits ;  it  has  furnished  the 
chief  lever  in  standardization  of  courses,  and  secondary  education  has  acquired  a 
unity  that  in  some  respects  is  a  precious  achievement.  No  one  would  wish  to  go  back  to 
the  conditions  that  preceded  it.  But  for  the  sound  development  of  secondary  education 
in  the  future  the  curriculum  must  be  freed  from  college  control.  The  college  should  in- 
deed dominate  the  secondary  school,  but  its  domination  should  be  exerted  through  the 
teachers.  What  the  secondary  school  needs  is  not  primarily  a  curriculum, — least  of  all  a 
college-made  and  college-guarded  curriculum, — but  good  teaching.  This  is  not  to  say 
that  the  curriculum  be  done  away  with;  but  that  it  must  be  controlled  and  improved 
by  the  schoolmen  themselves,  —  skilled  teachers  in  direct  contact  with  the  problems. 
The  present  subordination  of  the  teacher  to  the  curriculum  must  be  reversed  and  the 
curriculum  be  subordinated  to  the  teacher,  if  there  is  to  be  real  progress.  The  existing 
emphasis  upon  the  curriculum  with  its  "  points"  and  "credits"  and  pages  to  be  "cov- 
ered," its  arbitrary  standards  and  its  logical  balance  of  studies,  has  gone  far  to  obscure 
the  real  meaning  of  education  as  a  process  of  choosing  and  applying  those  things  that 

*  This  situation  is,  of  course,  not  peculiar  to  Vermont,  but  is  characteristic  throughout  the  United  SLates.  It  is  now 
being  altered,  to  the  great  advantage  of  both  school  and  college. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  88 

will  secure  the  strongest  and  most  profitable  reaction  in  a  child.  The  curriculum  should 
not  be  a  screen  to  sift  out  all  who  do  not  fit  its  meshes,  but  a  storehouse  from  which 
a  skilful  teacher  may  select  tools  wherewith  to  fashion  his  material.  The  important 
thing  is  the  skill  with  which  the  teacher  selects  and  applies  the  tools;  success  is  due 
to  his  insight  and  technique ;  failure  indicates  poor  judgment  on  his  part  much  oftener 
than  poor  stuff  in  the  pupil.^ 

Most  high  schools  suffer  from  this  rigid,  mechanical  curi'iculum  wrongly  conceived 
and  wrongly  used  because  of  the  influence  of  the  higher  institutions.  Vermont  high 
schools  are  no  exception.  The  conditions  indicated  are  illustrated  by  the  practice  of 
the  first  year.  In  accordance  with  the  official  course  of  study,  nearly  every  high  school 
asks  its  first  year  pupils,  14  or  15  years  of  age,  to  divide  their  time  equally  between 
Latin  grammar,  English, "algebra,  and  ancient  history.  Substitutes  for  Latin  occur, 
but,  as  noted  above,  54  per  cent  of  the  freshmen  in  1912-13  had  been  induced  to 
take  it.  Several  principals  spoke  with  pride  of  the  large  proportion  of  first  year  pu- 
pils whom  they  had  enrolled  in  Latin.  Others  recommended  a  single  year  of  Latin  as 
the  best  possible  disposition  of  time,  both  as  a  "mental  discipline,""  and  for  its  effect 
on  English.  This  attitude  is  illuminated  by  the  following  facts.  The  class  of  1912  sus- 
tained a  loss  of  about  50  per  cent  in  its  progress  through  high  school.  Besides  this  ab- 
solute loss,  Latin,  as  measured  by  the  four  classes  in  1912-13,  sustained  a  relative  loss 
during  the  course  of  23  per  cent.'  Of  all  graduates  in  1912,  however,  only  18  per  cent 
went  to  college.  This  was  approximately  9  per  cent  of  the  entering  class.  Only  80  per 
cent  of  these  offered  Latin  for  college  entrance,*  and  for  only  a  portion  of  these  last 
was  Latin  an  absolute  prerequisite  that  was  continued  in  college.  According,  therefore, 
to  the  best  data  available,  we  have  out  of  every  100  entering  students,  53  taking  Latin, 
a  subject  that  only  15  of  them  will  pursue  through  the  high  school,  that  only  7  will 
use  for  college  entrance,  and  that  perhaps  5  will  continue  in  college  to  the  point  where 
alone  in  the  opinion  of  many  the  labor  spent  upon  it  is  justified.  No  one  may  dogma- 
tize on  a  point  where  expert  opinion  differs  so  widely.  The  writer,  however,  is  frankly 
of  the  belief  (1)  that  only  an  unusually  sympathetic  and  industrious  mind  arrives 
at  an  appreciation  of  Latin  authors  as  literature  before  reading  them  in  college ; 
(2)  that  the  study  of  the  language  itself  in  high  school  alone  is  of  marked  value  only 
when  conducted  by  a  teacher  informed  and  trained  as  the  large  majority  of  the  sec- 

'  The  word  "teacher"  here  is,  of  course,  collective;  there  is  no  intention  of  charging  the  individual  teacher  with  the 
failure  of  the  pupil  in  every  case. 

'  The  official  course  prescribes  three  periods  weekly  for  English,  but  this  amount  is  very  generally  increased  to  five. 
^  Thus,  in  1912-13,  Latin  enrolled,  of  first  year  pupils,  54  percent,  of  second  year  pupils,  40  per  cent,  of  juniors, 36  per 
cent,  and  of  seniors, 31  per  cent.  This  is  between  different  groups,  to  be  sure,  and  may  not  be  typical.  Yet  the  pro- 
portion of  all  pupils  taking  Latin  has  grown  steadily  smaller.  In  1908,  49.9  per  cent ;  1910,  42.6  per  cent ;  1912,  41.G 
per  cent  of  the  pupils  in  all  courses  given  in  the  school  reports  for  these  years  took  Latin.  This  relative  loss  is  par- 
tially corroborated  by  highly  reliable  data  from  one  of  the  largest  high  schools  in  the  state  where,  in  1911-12,  40.4 
per  cent  of  the  entering  class  in  Latin  dropped  the  subject  at  the  end  of  the  year,  and  41.6  percent  of  the  sophomore 
class  in  Latin,  at  the  end  of  the  sophomore  year.  For  the  five  years  previous  tol912-13  these  percentages  are  41.7  per 
cent  and  41.9  percent  respectively. 
*  Based  on  reports  from  the  ten  large  schools  which  replied  on  this  point. 


84  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

ondary  school  teachers  in  America  are  not;  (3)  that  much  of  the  value  attributed  by 
Latin  teachers  to  the  study  of  the  language  in  high  school  alone  is  unreal,  and  that 
they  confuse  the  results  of  their  own  years  of  study  and  assimilation  for  what  must  of 
necessity  be  to  the  student  the  meagre  returns  of  the  initial  stages;  and  (4)  that,  given 
a  staff  of  teachers  of  average  information  and  training,  but  of  relatively  high  poten- 
tial, as  most  American  teachers  are,  a  more  stimulating  and  essentially  more  valuable 
reaction  can  be  secured  by  them  in  English,  history,  or  scientific  subjects  than  in 
Latin.  The  inferences  from  these  premises  would  be  that  no  pupil  should  be  entered 
in  a  four-year  Latin  course  without  considerable  deliberation  and  weighing  of  proba- 
bilities, and  that  no  group  of  pupils  should  be  forced  through  an  uncongenial  and,  to 
many,  comparatively  useless  course,  for  the  sake  of  the  convenience  of  one  or  two. 

Algebra  is  required  of  practically  all  first  year  students.  As  taught  at  present  it 
is  thoroughly  abstract,  systematic,  and  decisive.  To  sensitive,  emotional,  unsystematic 
pupils  it  has  no  meaning.  How  much  it  might  have  were  it  differently  organized,  it  is 
hard  to  say.  There  seems  good  reason  to  believe  that  a  radical  simplification  with 
much  concrete  application  would  furnish  real  enrichment  with  little  ultimate  loss. 
Mathematics  as  a  whole  shows  the  highest  percentage  of  failure  of  all  subjects  in 
Vermont  high  schools  (15.3  per  cent  in  the  larger  schools),  whether  because  it  can 
be  measured  with  nicety,  or  because  of  a  tendency  to  consider  it  the  critical  subject 
of  the  course,  or  because  it  furnishes  a  more  certain  psychological  basis  for  the  dis- 
crimination of  ability. 

Latin  grammar  and  algebra  are  plainly  more  or  less  technical  subjects.  They 
mav  be  interesting,  but  it  would  be  unfair  to  expect  them  to  reveal  and  explain  to 
a  youth  his  human  environment,  to  quicken  his  insight,  or  to  stimulate  his  will.  These 
effects  must  be  obtained,  if  at  all,  from  English  and  ancient  history.  English  instruc- 
tion, as  conducted  at  present,  consists  of  grammar,  composition,  and  reading.  In  gram- 
mar the  work  includes  analysis  of  sentences  according  to  grammatical  principles,  the 
study  of  grammatical  and  rhetorical  expression,  and  their  formal  application  in  com- 
position. In  composition  much  writing  is  prescribed,  extensively  corrected  by  the 
teacher  and  revised  by  the  pupil,  with  the  expectation  of  developing  facility  with 
somedegi-ee  of  accuracy  in  the  use  of  rhetorical  forms.  In  literature  recognized  classics 
by  Irving,  A\'Tiittier,  Macaulay,  Shakespeare,  Kingsley,  Cooper,  and  Homer  are  studied 
and  discussed  to  arouse  an  interest  in  reading.  Few  teachers  were  found,  however,  who 
felt  that  these  ends  were  accomplished  to  any  appreciable  extent.  The  instruction  in 
English  involves  considerable  machinery,  which  is  operated  with  much  pains  and  de- 
votion ;  it  undoubtedly  has  some  good  effect.  But  the  longer  one  watches  the  opera- 
tion and  observes  the  results  upon  different  types  of  pupils,  the  surer  one  becomes 
that  the  avowed  aim  and  emphasis  of  the  course  is  wrong.  It  stands  for  form  for  form's 
sake.  Its  devices  are  focused  upon  technique  rather  than  upon  the  content  that  gives 
the  technique  significance.  We  would  scarcely  teach  a  lad  table  manners  by  an'anging 
between  meals  an  elaborate  outfit  and  making  him  go  through  the  coiTect  motions, 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  85 

but  neglecting  him  entirely  when  he  actually  eats.  Some  yield  to  the  treatment  and 
take  an  interest  in  the  conscious  artificiality  of  the  proceeding.  Some  with  consider- 
able literary  background  and  initiative  may  even  be  largely  helped  by  it.  Less  adapt- 
able but  sincere  pupils  who  respond  vigorously  to  a  genuine  stimulus  are  bored  by 
the  artificiality  of  the  practice,  and  refuse  to  be  imposed  upon.  Yet  all  are  treated  alike, 
and  are  marked  high  or  low  according  to  their  reaction.  There  is  an  occasional  teacher 
who,  in  spite  of  the  curriculum,  makes  the  most  of  the  English  teacher's  rare  oppor- 
tunity, and  manages  to  Hood  the  course  with  interest  from  all  sources.  These  are  teach- 
ers indeed,  and  more  could  become  such  if  allowed  to  treat  the  curriculum  as  a  servant 
instead  of  as  a  master.  Less  English  grammar  as  medicine  and  more  good  English  as 
a  medium,  much  less  correction  by  the  way  and  much  more  appeal,  conviction,  and 
sense  of  significance,  would  lead  to  a  very  much  higher  degree  of  correctness  at  the  end. 
A  course  crowded  with  information  valuable  for  its  own  sake,  drawn  from  all  fields 
of  literature,  and  accompanied  always  by  abundant  oral  expression  in  discussions, 
applications,  and  interpretations,  —  such  a  course,  in  charge  of  the  best  teacher  to  be 
had,  would  begin  to  fulfil  the  real  obligation  of  the  school  to  the  pupil,  and  in  such  a 
course  every  pupil  would  find  his  place.  As  for  the  classics,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  they 
are  defeating  the  very  purpose  for  which  they  are  used,  —  "to  arouse  an  interest  in 
reading."  Dissected  and  discussed  perfunctorily  according  to  requirement,  they  asso- 
ciate themselves  chiefly  with  that  process  and  its  sequel,  —  tests  and  marks.  Moreover, 
many  of  them  are  much  further  beyond  the  modern  youth's  horizon  than  is  generally 
supposed.  No  doubt  but  that  on  a  broad  basis  of  more  intimate  and  immediate  inter- 
ests the  way  could  be  paved  to  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  many  of  them,  but  their 
sole  use  as  a  reading  program,  as  at  present,  or  even  their  primary  use,  seems  more 
likely  to  ensure  a  distaste  for  literature  than  its  appreciation.  At  least  one  duty  of 
the  English  teacher  would  seem  to  be  to  explore  with  the  pupil  and  to  display  to  him 
the  characteristics  of  the  resources  of  literary  satisfaction  that  he  may  reasonably 
be  expected  to  resort  to  on  leaving  school.  A  healthy  taste  in  this  field  would  bring 
great  reward. 

The  last  recourse  available  to  the  youth  in  search  of  light  on  his  adventure  is 
ancient  history.  Over  80  per  cent  of  first  year  pupils  in  1911-12  were  coming  up  for 
this  five  times  a  week.  The  study  consists  of  a  systematic  review  of  the  world's  his- 
tory, chiefly  political,  from  early  Egypt  to  800  a.d.,  as  outlined  by  the  Committee 
of  Seven  in  1899.  It  is  presented  in  various  text-books,  most  of  which  endeavor  to 
emphasize  points  recommended  by  the  committee,  but  which  also  give  a  systematic 
survey  in  some  form,  lest  the  book  be  ruled  deficient  in  completeness.  If  given  com- 
prehensively, as  was  evidently  contemplated  by  the  committee,  and  under  conditions 
which  prevail  in  the  majority  of  Vermont  high  schools,  this  course  can  be  nothing 
other  than  a  pedagogical  monstrosity.  How  can  a  teacher  fresh  from  college,  having 
thirty-five  classes  per  week  of  instruction  in  four  or  five  distinct  fields,  and  having 
usually  little  formal  preparation  in  ancient  history  other  than  a  similar  course  in  high 


86  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

school,  expound  systematically  the  life-stories  of  two  great  peoples  over  a  period  of 
2000  years,  to  a  class  of  boys  and  girls  in  whose  experience  there  is  usually  lacking 
the  faintest  foothold  for  comprehension  of  the  terms  or  ideas  involved?  The  attempt 
issues,  perforce,  in  a  mere  hand-to-mouth  text-book  performance,  in  which  the  teacher 
is  at  times  fully  as  much  at  sea  as  the  pupils.  This  "hearing"  of  ancient  history  at 
"so  many  pages  a  day"  is  not  only  useless;  it  would  be  difficult  to  devise  a  school 
matter  or  manner  better  calculated  to  produce  weariness  and  disgust  in  the  pupil. 
Teachers  and  principals  who  were  asked,  agreed  almost  unanimously  that  ancient 
history  "goes  badly;"  that  pupils  "find  it  hard,"  "uninteresting,"  or  "don't  like  it." 
The  faithful  student  leaves  the  course,  or  rather  the  book,  with  a  medley  of  strange 
names,  the  definition  of  which  is  governed  by  chance,  and  a  series  of  vague  and 
abstract  notions  of  law,  government,  and  society,  which  suggest  or  contrast  clearly 
with  nothing  modern ;  not  to  speak  of  numerous  dates  and  epochs  learned  for  exam- 
ination and  promptly  forgotten.  At  the  period  of  visitation  the  classes  were  dealing 
with  the  year  69  a.d.,  and  on  at  least  three  occasions  the  details  regarding  Galba, 
Otho,  and  Vitellius  were  rehearsed  as  faithfully  as  though  Julius  Caesar  had  been 
under  discussion.  In  three  other  classes  a  different  atmosphere  prevailed.  Breaking  away 
from  the  text-book,  the  teachers  here  were  reproducing  certain  picturesque  and  sig- 
nificant personages  and  making  them  throb  with  life  to  a  class  that  was  absorbed  in 
interest.  Only  thus  has  this  difficult  course  value  as  education.  It  requires  teachers 
with  time,  training,  and  imagination,  to  be  sure,  but  it  requires  also  a  vision  on  their 
part  that  a  response  from  each  pupil  is  their  great  object  and  not  the  satisfaction  of 
a  threatening  curriculum. 

The  foregoing  criticisms  of  the  first  year  course  as  a  whole  are  not  to  be  taken  as 
sweeping  denunciation.  The  considerations  urged  are,  however,  believed  to  be  a  valid 
basis  for  the  conclusion  that  far  greater  attention  is  at  present  centred  upon  carry- 
ing out  courses  as  prescribed,  and  upon  ordering  work  within  courses  as  planned,  than 
is  spent  upon  securing  for  a  given  child  a  course  that  is  what  he  needs  and  adapting 
its  material  to  his  interest  and  to  the  conditions  of  his  assimilation. 

A  further  illustration  of  the  effect  of  the  curriculum  and  its  use  is  found  in  the 
statistics  of  63  high  schools  with  regard  to  student  failures  in  the  year  1911-12.  The 
chances  of  failing  in  a  subject  that  year  ranged  from  none  in  four  schools  to  nearly 
one  chance  in  four  in  another  school,  the  percentage  of  failure  going  as  high  as  23.6 
with  the  median  at  8.8.  It  is  unlikely  that  this  was  due  to  any  considerable  extent 
to  differences  in  the  children  in  these  various  localities.  It  represents  rather  the  widely 
varying  tension  in  the  curriculum,  acting  without  correlation  with  differences  of 
preparation  in  the  pupils.  In  city  practice  social  policy  forces  a  certain  uniformity,  and 
the  real  question  is  evaded  by  an  arbitrary  "passing"  of  perhaps  90  per  cent  of  each 
class,  a  practice  morally  questionable  alike  for  teacher  and  pupil.  This  is  not  the 
case  in  these  smaller  country  schools.  They  appear  to  show  the  honest  variation  in- 
herent in  our  present  educational  standards.  The  problem  is,  of  course,  a  difficult  one, 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  87 

—  one  that  the  development  of  improved  standards  of  measurement  alone  can  solve. 
From  another  point  of  view,  however,  the  problem  of  failure  in  school  is  in  urgent 
need  of  immediate  and  radical  treatment,  the  nature  of  which  is  clear.  In  a  school 
system  that  had  for  its  central  purpose  the  appropriate  educational  treatment  of  each 
child  on  the  plane  of  his  capacities  and  disposition,  the  problem  of  how  many  pupils 
a  teacher  was  justified  in  failing  would  scarcely  appear  at  all.  To-day  the  blight  that 
we  call  "failiu'c"  is  allowed  to  gather  and  harden  into  a  persistent  mental  attitude, 
as  a  pupil,  with  the  sanction  of  his  school,  repeats  algebra  or  Latin  grammar  from 
one  to  five  times.  This  is  certainly  a  mistake,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  as  the  future 
brings  us  more  resources,  we  shall  learn  to  discern  the  beginnings  of  failure  as  an 
order  for  a  change  of  treatment,"  and  that  we  shall  possess  the  facilities  and  the  wisdom 
to  make  that  change  with  confidence  and  success  and  at  once. 

The  first  and  fundamental  need,  therefore,  is  greater  freedom  and  elasticity  in  order 
to  meet  the  individual  pupil.  This  established,  there  is  pressing  need  that  the  curricu- 
lum be  expanded  to  meet  the  enlarged  function  of  the  present-day  school.  Planned 
originally  for  but  a  single  type  of  pupil,  and  at  a  time  when  the  aim  of  secondary  edu- 
cation had  by  no  means  attained  its  present  scope,  its  resources  to-day  appear  meagre 
and  insufHcient.  At  a  time  in  a  child's  life  when  he  is  most  stimulated  and  perma- 
nently influenced  by  the  reality  of  his  surroundings,  Vermont  offers  him  through  the 
all-important  first  two  years  in  high  school  a  treatment  that  is  exclusively  bookish 
andean  be  nothing  else;  a  half  course  in  botany  is  the  sole  exception.  A  state  whose 
economic  and  social  problems  are  bound  up  with  agriculture,  Vermont  has  a  high 
school  curriculum  that  is  appropriate  to  a  metropolis.  Less  than  ten  per  cent  of  the 
pupils  in  Vermont  high  schools  go  to  college,  but  the  studies  that  the  colleges  require 
of  them  crowd  out  from  the  curriculum  all  forms  of  instruction,  aside  from  commer- 
cial branches,  that  might  make  the  other  nine-tenths  of  the  students  happier  and 
more  efficient  in  their  future  occupations,  whether  they  be  farming  or  business,  teach- 
ing or  home-making.  Praise  is  due  to  the  state  department  of  education  that  changes 
in  these  respects  have  long  been  preached  and,  in  places,  already  initiated  in  Vermont. 

Of  these  newer  subjects  commercial  education  is  the  oldest  and  best  understood. 
In  1911-12,  16.9  per  cent  of  the  enrolment  were  in  commercial  courses, — an  increase 
of  three  per  cent  over  1909-10.  These  were  chiefly  in  schools  giving  a  four-year  com- 
mercial course,  of  which  in  1913  there  were  15  large  schools  and  four  three-teacher 
schools.  Although  this  course  seems  to  have  been  invented  to  catch  the  waste  of  other 
departments  and  to  have  received  scant  honor  in  its  own  right,^  there  is  now  a  strong 
tendency  to  strengthen  and  dignify  it,  to  build  out  the  two-year  into  four-vear 
courses,  to  increase  the  emphasis  on  economics,  scientific  salesmanship,  and  business 
organization,  and  to  make  the  course  in  every  way  the  peer  of  any  other.  It  is  the 
repeated  experience  of  principals  that  boys  and  girls  well  launched  into  this  work 

*  It  exists  to-day  in  several  schools  as  the  "easy  "  course,  where  the  community  makes  no  demand  for  its  product  and 
where  it  is  pursued  solely  in  order  to  "graduate." 


88  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

speedily  drop  the  characteristic  aimlessness  of  the  high  school  and  become  seriously 
enthusiastic, — such  is  the  transforming  effect  of  a  concrete,  intelligible  objective. 
Domestic  science,  agriculture,  and  manual  training  have  made  their  way  into  some 
of  the  larger  schools.  In  1913  domestic  science  enrolled  4  per  cent  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  pupils,  agriculture,  2  per  cent,  and  manual  training,  1  per  cent.  Two  or  three 
of  the  largest  schools  are  admirably  equipped  for  domestic  science  and  manual  train- 
ino-,  with  competent,  trained  instructors  and  adequate  apparatus.  The  appearance  of 
these  courses  elsewhere  demands  a  word  of  caution.  Nowhere  is  there  greater  need 
of  a  sympathetic  but  clear-headed  state  inspector  and  adviser.  An  enthusiastic  and 
ambitious  school  principal,  a  slow-moving  and  skeptical  school  committee,  and  a  very 
little  money  are  the  usual  factors.  All  concerned  are  anxious  to  get  the  proposed  en- 
richment listed  in  the  catalogue;  not  all  are  so  particular  that  its  fulfillment  be  of 
a  nature  that  is  educationally  sound  or  that  ensures  success.  Hence  it  happens,  as  one 
visit  showed,  that  "  domestic  science"  may  resolve  itself  into  a  joint  effort  of  the  his- 
tory or  English  teacher  and  the  class  in  "Home  Economics"  to  cook  after  school  over 
a  single  gas-burner  in  a  recitation  room;  or  a  willing  ninth-grade  instructor  teaches 
"manual  training"  to  restless  boys  gathered  about  the  janitor's  work  bench  in  a  dark 
cellar.  Agriculture  appears  to  make  less  insistent  demand  for  a  laboratory.  As  a  result, 
every  course  in  "agriculture"  but  one  is  being  taught  directly  out  of  some  book, 
by  a  teacher  whose  chief  qualification  is  that  he  or  she  was  "brought  up  on  a  farm," 
and  occasionally  even  that  qualification  is  missing.^  It  is  granted  that  all  of  these 
efforts  have  elements  of  worth,  and  the  interest  and  enterprise  of  the  teachers  who 
are  spending  themselves  at  such  a  disadvantage  are  wholly  commendable.  It  need 
hardly  be  said,  however,  that  the  actual  work  done  in  such  cases  can  be  only  meagre 
and  superficial,  and  that  the  project  ought  in  every  instance  to  receive  more  time, 
study,  and  preparation  before  it  is  launched.  School  committees  should  be  illumi- 
nated by  observing  such  work  at  its  best  elsewhere.  The  education  of  committees  in 
this  way  has  already  produced  unexpected  results  in  Vermont.  With  intelligent  sup- 
port, new  departures  can  be  organized  in  a  manner  calculated  to  vindicate  their 
worth  to  both  pupils  and  parents. 

To  meet  a  special  need,  training-classes  for  teachers  in  elementary  schools  have 
recently  been  introduced  into  the  high  schools  under  the  close  supervision  of  the 
state  superintendent  of  education.  In  their  relation  to  the  training  of  teachers  these 
classes  are  fully  dealt  with  elsewhere.  From  the  high  school  point  of  view  these  classes 
constitute  an  admirable  vocational  course  for  girls.  The  training  teachers  have  gen- 
erally been  selected  with  great  success — skilled  women,  who  are  usually  the  best  paid 
and  not  seldom  the  strongest  teachers  in  their  respective  schools.  As  they  exist  to- 
day, however,  probably  because  of  their  recent  introduction,  the  training-classes  have 
one  marked  weakness,  namely,  their  extremely  loose  articulation  with  the  school  where 

^  Of  the  ten  teachers  professing  to  teach  agriculture  in  Vermont  hiprh  schools,  outside  of  Morrisville,  one  only  reports 
a  course  of  training  in  the  subject;  this  one  had  six  weeks  in  the  University  of  Vermont  summer  school. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  89 

they  happen  to  be.  Juniors  entering  the  training-class  break  off  completely  the  courses 
they  have  undertaken  before.  A  separate  room,  a  separate  teacher,  and  a  wholly  spe- 
cialized subject-matter  perfect  the  isolation  in  which  they  work.  This  seems  both 
unnecessary  and  unwise.  The  distribution  of  the  work  of  these  students  on  a  two-year 
or  three-year  basis  would  permit  them  to  complete  certain  studies  with  the  rest  of  the 
school,  and  would  coordinate  their  specialty  with  the  other  courses  of  the  school.  This 
would  tend  to  their  benefit  as  teachers,  and  it  would  certainly  contribute  much  to 
the  unity  of  the  school  itself. 

The  teaching  of  agriculture  is  of  such  surpassing  importance  to  the  welfare  of  Ver- 
mont that  a  defense  of  it  is  unnecessary.  It  may  be  in  place,  however,  to  indicate  why 
such  instruction  should  be  shared  by  the  high  school  rather  than  be  given  solely  by 
special  schools  organized  for  the  purpose. Three  reasons  are  important:  first, vocational 
traininc  from  its  very  nature  is  local  in  its  demand  and,  when  well  worked  out  in 
special  schools,  is  exceedingly  expensive.  A  rural  population  must  wait  long  for  an 
adequate  supply  of  such  schools;  its  high  schools,  however,  can,  with  comparative  econ- 
omy and  success,  inaugurate  at  once  such  courses  as  shall  serve  large  districts  fairly 
well.  Secondly,  because  the  really  efficient  high  school  is  the  place  where,  with  skilled 
help  and  advice,  each  boy  or  girl  may  try  out,  in  a  varied  and  stimulating  environment, 
his  or  her  own  personal  disposition  and  resources,  and  discover,  if  possible,  where  his 
grip  on  the  world  is  surest  and  most  likely  to  be  permanent.  In  the  special  school  a 
pupil  has  only  one  outlook;  in  the  high  school  having  several  associated  courses  the 
meaning  of  many  professions  appears  from  all  sides,  and  the  pupil  may  discover  new 
interests  and  change  his  plans,  if  need  be,  without  difficulty.  The  third  reason  is  that, 
if  agriculture  is  to  command  the  best  brains  of  Vermont  youth,  agricultural  study 
must  win  for  itself  recognition  as  the  equal  of  any  other  form  of  school  pursuit.  This 
it  can  do  most  successfully  in  direct  association  with  other  courses.  Trained  apart  and 
in  rural  isolation,  the  "Aggies"  will  long  suffer  from  a  false  but  deeply  rooted  dis- 
paragement. On  the  other  hand,  if  they  are  matched  directly  with  students  in  other 
courses,  the  opportunity  presents  itself  for  schoolmen  who  have  Vermont's  problem 
at  heart,  to  intensify  and  dignify  agriculture  to  the  point  of  wholly  transforming  the 
attitude  of  all  secondary  students  toward  it.  It  is  a  pressing  duty  of  the  high  schools 
in  Vermont  to  display  fairly  the  power,  resources,  and  significance  of  the  farm.  If  these 
are  genuine,  they  can  and  must  be  shown  to  be  so;  if  they  are  fictitious,  and  if  the 
end  sought  must  be  attained  by  segregation  and  withdrawing  boys  from  other  op- 
portunities, then  no  needs  of  the  state,  whether  fancied  or  real,  can  justify  the  policy. 

Finally,  it  is  worth  while  to  sum  up  in  a  word  the  principle  that  it  is  believed 
should  underlie  the  administration  of  the  high  school  curriculum.  No  study  or  group 
of  studies  has  any  importance  for  its  o^vn  sake ;  its  value  consists  altogether  in  the 
extent  to  which  it  assists  a  teacher  in  bringing  a  pupil  into  those  relations  with  his 
environment  that  are  agreeable,  stimulating,  and  promising  for  him  personally  and 
profitable  to  society.  The  curriculum  should  include  any  body  of  instruction  that 


90  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

can  be  successfully  organized  to  this  end  and  for  which  there  is  a  demand.  But  its  real 
potency  consists  not  in  itself,  but  in  the  intelligence  with  which  it  is  applied. 

B.   FINANCIAL  ASPECTS 

Second  only  to  the  primary  question  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  curriculum  in  ac- 
complishing that  for  which  it  exists,  is  the  question  of  its  cost,  of  the  wisest  use  of 
public  funds  for  education.  It  is  desirable  that  the  public  school  not  only  be  com- 
plete and  effective  and  a  source  of  community  pride,  but  also  that  it  represent  a  wise 
expenditure  of  the  people's  money.  If  one  school  spends  $40  per  pupil  for  a  course 
in  physics  when  another  spends  $10,  the  higher  cost  should  be  justified  by  the  dif- 
ficulty of  the  conditions  or  the  superiority  of  the  instruction.  If  through  a  series  of 
years  the  cost  of  giving  a  certain  subject  remains  high  in  comparison  with  other  sub- 
jects that  might  be  introduced,  or  with  other  uses  to  which  the  money  might  be  put, 
the  public  has  the  right  to  expect  that  its  school  experts  will  compare  as  justly  as 
possible  the  relative  values  obtainable  and  seek  and  secure  the  largest  return  on  its 
investment,  that  is,  the  best  education  for  the  largest  number  of  pupils.^ 

Examples  of  high  costs  per  pupil  which  may  or  may  not  be  justified  occur  particu- 
larly in  the  case  of  subjects  that  are  given  for  the  sake  of  the  few  who  desire  to  prepare 
for  special  courses  in  college.  Thus,  advanced  algebra,  or  solid  geometry,  or  both,  were 
given  in  Vermont  in  1912-13  by  seventeen  school  principals  at  the  costs  per  pupil 
indicated  below : 

Cost  per  Pupil  of  One  Hour  per  Week  through  the  Year  in  Advanced  Mathematics^ 
Cost  Salary 

$1.82  $850 

2.85  950 

3.62  850 

3.85  1200 

3.85  2000 

4.27  1000 

4.50  1100 

5.71  1000 

9.52  1600 

10.00  1250 

10.16  1300 

10.71  1500 

11.11  1200 

18.24  1750 

20.00  1400 

22.97  850 

SQM  1600 

'  For  a  particularly  lucid  treatment  of  cost  per  pupil  of  secondary  instruction  see  the  School  Reports  of  Newton, 

Massachusetts,  for  1910,  1911,  and  1912. 

'  These  costs  are  obtained  by  dividing  the  salary  by  the  number  of  recitation  periods  per  week  and  then  dividing 

the  result  by  the  number  in  the  class.  The  above  are  principals  in  each  case. 

'  Increased  arbitrarily  from  16  to  20  in  order  to  make  the  resulting  costs  comparable  with  the  others. 


No.  of  periods 

No.  of  pupils 

per  week 

in  class 

39 

12 

37 

9 

47 

5 

39 

8 

20^ 

26 

S9 

6 

..  ^ 

rr 

.30 

/ 

35 

5 

28 

6 

25 

5 

32 

4 

20 

7 

27 

4 

32 

3 

S5 

2 

37 

1 

22 

2 

THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  91 

Similarly,  elementary  mathematics  is  being  reviewed  for  college  at  one  school  for 
$1,80  per  pupil  and  is  being  well  done;  at  another  school  two  pupils  in  this  subject 
are  costing  $27.34  each.  A  third  year  of  Fj-ench  is  admirably  taught  at  one  school  to 
23  pupils  for  .$1.39  each;  another  school  is  paying  $16.07  for  the  advanced  French 
of  each  of  two  pupils.  It  costs  still  another  school  $30.43  to  give  a  single  pupil 
a  third  year  of  German.  Second  year  French  costs  88  cents  per  pupil  at  one  of  the 
larger  schools,  but  two  of  the  smaller  institutions  are  paying  $17.10  and  $21.21 
respectively  to  teach  it  to  one  pupil.  In  Greek,  as  might  be  expected,  the  costs  per 
pupil  are  uniformly  very  high,  from  $4.40  to  $18.28.  In  most  cases  they  exceed, 
usually  very  far,  the  average  cost  per  pupil  of  all  other  subjects  taken  together.  Fur- 
thermore, a  sequence  of  courses,  which  is  the  chief  excuse  for  high  costs,  is  largely 
lacking  in  the  case  of  Greek.  One  school  only  has  the  three  consecutive  classes,  two 
have  two  classes,  and  five  have  merely  scattering  groups  in  this  subject. 

These  comparative  costs  are  not  necessarily  measures  of  value;  a  subject  is  not 
good  merely  because  it  is  either  cheap  or  dear.  They  do,  however,  represent  the  value 
that  a  school,  perhaps  unconsciously,  attributes  to  each  subject.  In  paying  $90^  a 
year  to  teach  one  pupil  Greek,  a  school  should  not  ignore  the  fact  that  the  same 
amount  of  money  may  give  a  course  occupying  the  same  amount  of  an  equally  skilled 
teacher's  time  to  twenty  pupils  in  French  or  English.  It  is  conceivable  of  course  that 
money  spent  in  training  a  few  good  minds  to  be  leaders  may  accomplish  more  for  the 
community  than  if  distributed  among  the  larger  number  who  will  be  followers.  The 
problem  is  to  be  sure  which  pupils  are  the  prospective  leaders  and  which  are  the  fol- 
lowers, that  the  appropriate  subjects  are  provided  for  each,  and  that  the  return  is  gen- 
uine and  not  merely  traditional  or  fictitious.  If  it  should  appear  that  courses  which 
make  a  larger  appeal  to  the  community  life  could,  by  intensification  and  enrichment, 
be  given  a  cultural  value  as  well,  it  is  obvious  that  money  would  be  better  spent  in 
reaching  the  larger  number  of  pupils. 

The  comparison  of  costs  per  pupil  throws  light  also  upon  the  central  problem  of 
Vermont's  secondary  schools,  the  small  high  school.  These  schools  have  often  been 
developed  and  cherished  rather  because  of  worthy  sentiment  and  ambition  than  be- 
cause of  any  conviction  of  their  actual  success  and  worth.  These  small  two-teacher 
schools  have,  on  the  whole,  poor  housing  and  equipment,  the  instructors  are  ill-pre- 
pared and  of  small  experience,  the  salaries  are  exceedingly  small,  the  number  of 
recitation  periods  per  week  excessive,  the  change  of  personnel  is  very  rapid,  and  the  ed- 
ucational foundation  of  the  pupil  is  relatively  low.  All  of  these  elements  make  directly 
for  weakness  in  the  process  and  the  product;  in  fact,  the  only  element  of  advantage 
in  these  small  schools  is  the  often  doubtful  one  of  the  very  small  class.^  Yet  in  spite 
of  this  combination  of  factors  which  practically  ensures  low-grade  and  inefficient  work, 

*  At  the  rate  of  $18  per  period,  five  weekly  recitations  would  cost  $90. 

*  In  the  larger  schools  10  per  cent  of  the'classes  consist  of  five  pupils  or  less ;  in  the  two-teacher  schools  these  small 
classes  are  31  per  cent  of  the  whole.  In  the  larger  schools  74  per  cent  of  the  classes  have  more  than  ten  pupils  ;  in  the 
smaller  71  per  cent  have  less  than  ten.  See  table  in'Part  III. 


92  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

the  cost  per  pupil  is  as  high  or  higher  than  it  is  in  the  schools  where  the  best  con- 
ditions prevail.  Brief  tables  are  presented  in  Part  III  comparing  the  large  schools  and 
the  two-teacher  schools  in  these  two  respects.  On  the  present  basis  of  organization 
the  small  schools  are  paying,  and  must  pay,  double  the  normal  cost  for  a  service 
that  is  far  below  the  normal  value.  Only  the  larger  schools  can  teach  some  subjects 
economically.  Suggestions  for  a  reorganization  in  this  respect  appear  in  a  subsequent 
section. 


III.  THE  PRODUCT  OF  THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

The  nature  of  the  product  is  plainly  the  all-important  consideration  in  an  under- 
taking involving  as  much  effort  and  expense  as  does  a  state's  educational  establish- 
ment. 

1.  School  Records 
Any  enquiry  into  the  product  of  an  educational  institution  depends  upon  accurate 
records.  In  general  these  have  not  existed  in  Vermont  hitherto,  although  many  schools 
have  recently  installed  an  individual  card  system  for  recording  the  gross  facts.  Some 
schools  have  long  had  such  record  systems  in  operation;  others  are  unable  to  state 
the  number  of  pupils  entering  or  graduating  as  recently  as  1910-11.  One  of  the 
large  schools  in  the  state  has  operated  up  to  the  present  year  with  a  single  list  of 
accessions  like  a  hotel  register  without  dates.  Ratings  were  entered  after  each  name, 
but  without  mention  of  subjects;  these  were  left  to  the  principal's  memory.  Owing  to 
this  lack  of  records  and  to  the  fact  that  where  records  do  exist,  they  are  rarely,  if 
ever,  suited  to  this  purpose,  the  schools  were  asked  only  for  a  few  salient  facts  that  could 
usually  be  supplied.  One  great  service  of  a  centralized  state  education  office  would  be 
to  devise  and  require  of  the  schools  a  system  of  records  which  would  make  significant 
facts  available.  Even  where  schools  possess  elaborate  systems,  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
they  exist  largely  in  the  interests  of  convenience  or  of  self-protection.  Little  progress 
in  profitable  self-analysis  can  be  made  until  schools  realize  that  the  primary  function 
of  school  records  is  to  show  in  detail  how  the  school  processes  act  upon  the  pupils 
and  how  the  results  justify  or  condemn  the  processes. 

2.  The  Unfinished  Product 
Information  was  sought  on  three  points:  the  withdrawals  from  the  schools  in 
a  given  year,  the  withdrawals  from  a  given  class  during  its  four  years'  course,  and  the 
present  occupations  of  a  given  set  of  graduates.  The  following  table  summarizes  the 
returns  by  groups  of  schools : 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 


Withdrawals  during  and  at  the  End  of  the  School  Year  1911-12 

NOT  including  GRADUATES 

1st  Year  in  71  Schools 

Schools  having    Schools  having     Schools  having     Schools  having 
Jf-22  teachers         3  teachers  2  teachers  1  teacher 

Enrolled  1 1 75 

Loss  269 


Per  cent 


22.9 


2d,  3d,  a7id  ^th  Years  in  64  Schools 
Enrolled  2341 

Loss  296 

Per  cent  12.6 

Total  in  GJf  Schools 
Enrolled  351 6 

Loss  bOib 

Per  cent  I6.I 


Total 


359 

212 

149 

1895 

^Q 

54 

52 

471 

26.7 

25.4 

34.9 

24.9 

s 
583 

380 

97 

3401 

82 

63 

13 

454 

14.1 

16.5 

13.3 

13.3 

910 

573 

187 

5186 

166 

114 

31 

876 

18.2 

19.8 

16.5 

16.9 

Withdrawals  from  the  Class  of  1912  during  its  Four-Year  Course  in  40  Schools 
Entered  951  181  II6  1248 

Loss  497  94  58  649 

Per  cent  52.3  51.9  50  52 

No  similar,  comprehensive  statistics  with  which  to  compare  these  figures  are  at 
hand ;  they  are  probably  not  abnormal,  if  by  normal  is  meant  the  prevalent  situa- 
tion in  secondary  schools.  The  pertinent  enquiry  is,  however,  Why  does  so  great 
a  loss  occur.?  The  schools  were  invited  to  answer  this  question,  with  the  following 
result : 


Failure  ^ 

Financial  Necessity 

Sickness 

Transferred 

Other  causes 

Unknown 


Causes  assigned  by  the  23  Largest  Schools  for  Withdrawals 

during  or  at  the  End  of  the  School  Year  1911-12 

{llie  figures  indicate  percentages) 

1st  Year            '           2d,  3d,  4th  Years  Total 

42.0                                   35.8  38.8 

11.5                                    14.2  13.0 

8.5                                   10.1  9.4 

16.0                                 19.0  17.6 

6.7                                9.1  7.7 

15.3                                    11.8  13.5 


100.0 


100.0 


100.0 


^  Includes  all  whose  work  was  unsatisfactory.  Cases  under  other  headings  are  understootl  to  have  tieen  above 
"passing."  The  principals  determined  the  meaning  of  "  failure." 


94  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Causes  assigned  for  Withdrawals  during  the  Four-Year  Course 
OF  THE  Class  of  1912 


Schools  having 
4-22  teachers 

Schools  having 
3  teachers 

Schools  having 
2  teachers 

Failure 

44.0 

25.5 

22.9 

Financial  Necessity 

13.8 

12.8 

8.3 

Sickness 

6.2 

2.1 

6.3 

Transferred 

11.9 

8.5 

14.5 

Other  Causes 

6.2 

11.7 

e.s 

Repeating 

5S 

7.4 

12.5 

Unknown 

12.3 

32.0 

29.2 

100.0  100.0  100.0 

Statistics  of  the  nature  of  those  just  given  must  of  necessity  be  somewhat  ambig- 
uous and  suggest  sundry  further  enquiries,  such  as — Was  withdrawal,  actual  or  pro- 
spective, the  cause,  the  result,  or  the  purpose  of  failure.?  How  compelling  was  the 
"financial  necessity".?  and  How  completely  did  sickness  incapacitate  the  pupil.?  How 
many  of  these  would  have  stayed  if  vital  interest  had  held  them.? and  How  many  of 
those  transferred  finally  completed  their  courses  elsewhere.?  The  large  number  of  "  un- 
known" causes  still  further  confuses  the  results.  Whatever  the  interpretation,  how- 
ever, and  with  all  allowances,  it  is  clear  that  the  first  year  class  even  in  the  largest 
schools  loses  nearly  a  fifth  of  its  membership,  and  that  of  these  departing  pupils  over 
one-half  do  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  curriculum.^ 

Traced  through  the  course  of  a  single  class,  1912,  the  loss  is  found  to  be  somewhat 
over  half  of  the  number  entering,  or  assuming  that  half  of  those  "transferred"  ulti- 
mately graduate,  49  per  cent  of  those  entering  do  not  complete  the  course  of  the 
larger  schools.  Of  these  47  per  cent  failed  to  satisfy  the  school's  requirements.^  Ap- 
proximately one-quarter  of  the  original  members  of  the  class  of  1912  have,  therefore, 
failed  to  find  in  the  course  that  which  appealed  either  to  their  dispositions  or  abilities. 

On  the  theory  that  secondary  education  is  for  such  as  are  able  and  willing  to  carry 
out  an  arbitrarily  arranged  program  of  study,  this  makes  on  the  whole  an  excellent 
showing, — 77  per  cent  of  a  given  group  appear  to  be  able  to  meet  the  requirements,^ 
although  only  slightly  more  than  50  per  cent  actually  do  so. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  be  held  that  the  business  of  a  secondary  school  is  not 
to  fit  children  to  a  curriculum,  but  to  select  and  use  such  means  as  shall  raise  each 
child  to  his  highest  power,  it  is  clear  that  the  high  schools  lost  their  hold  on  half  of 
the  pupils  entrusted  to  them,  and  failed  utterly  to  arouse  the  interest  and  response 

^  The  transfer  factor  quoted  for  the  larprer  schools  on  page  93  is  16  per  cent  of  22.9,  or  3.6.  Actual  loss,  therefore, 

equals  19.3  per  cent  in  the  group  of  large  schools.  The  failure  factor  (42.7  per  cent  of  22.9)  is  9.9,  or  61.6  per  cent  of 

19.2.  In  the  complete  array  the  losses  range  from  8  per  cent  to  69  per  cent,  with  the  median  at  25  per  cent. 

'  One-half  the  transfer  factor  (11.9  per  cent  of  62.3)  equals  3.  The  actual  loss  is  then  49.3  per  cent.  The  failure  factor 

(44.1  per  cent  of  62.3)  is  23.1,  or  46.9  per  cent  of  49.3.  In  the  complete  array  the  losses  in  the  class  of  1912  range  from 

none  to  86  per  cent;  the  median  is  55.1  per  cent. 

^  That  is,  100  per  cent  less  23,  or  the  percentage  of  failure.  See  note  2. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 


95 


of  nearly  one-fourth,  to  say  nothing  of  the  large  number  that  they  failed  to  attract 
even  to  the  point  of  entrance. 

3.  The  Finished  Product 
The  finishing  of  the  product  of  the  secondary  school,  therefore,  involves  a  consid- 
erable waste,  one-half  of  the  original  material  being  discarded  in  the  process.  What 
of  the  quality  and  usefulness  of  the  remaining  highly  selected  output.?  Unfortunately 
there  exist  no  adequate  data  for  an  answer  to  this  question.  It  would  require  alumni 
records  covering  a  number  of  years,  together  with  accurate  records  of  actual  school 
work,  to  show  what  relation  there  may  be  between  schooling  and  subsequent  careers, 
and  such  records  are  not  to  be  had.  Pairly  accurate  returns,  however,  were  secured 
concerning  the  graduates  of  the  class  of  1912,  and  are  presented  here  for  what  they 
are  worth. 

Occupations  One  Year  Later  of  those  Graduating  from  High  Schools  in  1912 
{After  the  first  line  the  figures  indicate  percentages) 


Schools 
with  U-S3 
teachers 

Schools 
with  3 
teachers 

Schools 
with  2 
teachers 

Schools 
with  1 
teacher 

Total 

Number  of  Graduates 

599 

143 

97 

511 

890 

19.0 

2.7 

11.0 

21.2 

15.7 

5.4 

2,3 

3.3 

12.7 

6.7 

19.5 
7.0 

16.8 

22.4 
8.4 
3.5 
2.8 
4.2 

10.5 
4.9 

10.3 
2.1 
4.1 

36.0 

11.3 
4.1 
2.1 
8.3 

18.6 
4.1 

9.8 
25.4 
25.4 

2.0 
4.0 
2.0 
6.0 
25.4 

17.1 

3.7 

12.0 

23.1 

13.2 

4.7 

Trades       

2.5 

3.9 

12.6 

Unknown 

7.2 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

As  an  indication  of  the  effectiveness  of  high  school  graduates,  the  above  figures 
are,  of  course,  merely  a  suggestion.  The  number  said  to  be  in  college,  for  example, 
probably  omits  some  who  will  later  go  to  college,  and  includes  many  who  will  fail 
to  continue  and  complete  the  college  course.  The  only  school  furnishing  returns  on 
this  latter  point  states  that  38  per  cent  of  its  graduates  during  the  past  five  years 
have  entered  college,  and  of  these  76  per  cent  have  dropped  out  before  graduation. 
It  is  significant  to  note  the  small  percentage  that  have  thus  far  taken  up  farming  (3.9). 
Has  the  high  school  actually  diverted  boys  from  this  occupation,  or  has  it  simply 
failed  to  attract  would-be  farmers  by  the  obvious  inappropriateness  of  its  courses.?  An 
attempt  was  made  to  secure  a  statement  of  the  courses  from  which  these  students 

'As  these  are  all  two-year  schools,  "graduates"  are  those  who  leave  in  good  standing  at  the  end  of  the  second 
year. 


96  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

graduated,  but  the  replies  were  so  ambiguous  that  they  could  not  be  used.  It  may 
be  assumed  that  the  Latin  course,  claiming  over  40  per  cent  of  the  enrolment,  is  repre- 
sented chiefly  by  those  who  go  to  college  or  other  schools,  or  are  teaching  in  the  ele- 
mentary school.  It  has  a  really  functional  concern  only  for  a  part  of  those  who  go  to 
college.  The  commercial  course  with  its  16.9  per  cent  of  the  pupils  is  accounted  for  in 
the  15.7  per  cent  of  the  graduates  of  the  large  schools  who  are  in  office  work.  The 
English  course  has  presumably  produced  most  of  the  rest.  It  cannot  be  said  that  any 
of  the  various  occupations,  with  the  exception  of  certain  forms  of  college  study,  the 
commercial  occupations,  and,  latterly,  teaching,  have  found  in  the  high  school  any 
directly  preparatory  activities.  A  sort  of  unrelated  "general  culture,"  in  so  far  as  that 
would,  if  necessary,  count  toward  college,  has  been  its  main  contribution. 

No  one  can  compare  the  census  list  of  Vermont  occupations  with  the  official  sec- 
ondary school  curriculum  without  seeing  plainly  that  occupation  and  schooling  in  the 
state  are,  with  the  one  exception  of  commercial  subjects,  essentially  independent  and 
unrelated.  The  student  breaks  from  a  wholly  artificial  into  a  wholly  practical  life. 
For  the  sake  of  their  liberal  culture  he  has  learned  unfamiliar  things  which  he  rarely 
touches  again.  The  cultural  features  of  the  things  with  which  he  must  deal  all  his 
life  have  never  been  pointed  out  to  him.  Where  there  is  a  chance  for  a  vital  inter- 
relation of  reference  and  illustration — a  curriculum  and  career  each  drawing  help- 
ful knowledge  and  power  from  the  other — there  actually  exist  the  alien  interests  and 
rigid  exclusiveness  of  two  almost  hostile  camps.  This  relation  should  be  completely 
transformed. 


IV.  DEFINITION  OF  A  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

The  authors  of  this  report  believe  that  the  secondary  school  should  be  emphati- 
cally the  school  for  youth  during  adolescence.  Its  fundamental  purpose  is  to  deal  prof- 
itably with  a  certain  stage  in  the  development  of  the  individual.  It  can  never,  there- 
fore, be  the  institution  merely  of  a  class  or  sect  or  community;  it  is  the  educational 
birthright  of  every  youth  when  he  comes  to  adolescence.  The  intellectual  aim  of  the 
elementary  school  is  to  ensure  confidence  and  facility  in  the  use  of  certain  indispen- 
sable tools;  the  secondary  school,  on  the  other  hand,  takes  the  child  just  as  he  begins 
to  expand  with  new  power  and  freedom  into  the  inheritance  of  the  adult,  and  seeks  to 
discover  the  direction  of  his  individual  and  social  promise  and  ultimate  productive- 
ness, and  to  provide  him,  as  far  as  possible,  with  equipment  and  training  to  that  end. 
Every  individual  is  under  a  social  obligation  to  develop  a  vocational  pursuit  which, 
while  representing  his  economic  contribution  to  the  common  life,  shall,  if  possible,  be 
also  the  medium  of  his  individual  expression.  This  vocational  pursuit  should  spring 
naturally  and  with  vigorous  motive  fi'om  the  soil  prepared  in  the  secondary  school. 
Such  a  pursuit  should  be  both  profitable  to  society  and  satisfactory  to  the  pupil;  and 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  97 

should  be  conceived  in  the  largest  terms  of  which  the  pupil's  personality  is  capable. 
So-called  "  liberal "  culture  has  warrant  and  significance  chiefly  as  it  forms  the  back- 
ground and  interpretation  of  that  which  one  calls  his  "work,"  and  therefore  in  a  large 
way  radiates  from  it. 

In  conformity  with  this  idea,  it  is  clear  that  the  secondary  school  should  be  organ- 
ized so  as  to  deal  with  every  normal  child;  that  it  should  provide  widely  varied  op- 
portunities for  determining  the  central  tendency  of  a  child's  abilities  and  disposition; 
that  its  courses  should  include,  not  incidentally  but  treated  with  intensive  thorough- 
ness, those  fields  in  which  the  youth  of  the  community  are  likely  to  find  their  per- 
manent careers;  and  finally  that  in  the  arrangement  of  curriculum  and  program,  in 
the  ordering  of  general  school  activities,  in  the  training  and  spirit  of  the  teaching 
staff,  the  central  purpose  should  be  to  establish  the  child  in  the  noblest  mental  and 
spiritual  relations  with  life. 

In  urging  the  necessity  of  an  "enriched"  high  school  it  is  especially  desired  to  avoid 
misunderstanding.  It  is  not  intended  that  the  schooling  of  the  individual  shall  be 
widely  and  thinly  expanded.  Precisely  the  reverse;  concentration  is  indispensable; 
but  a  wide  opportunity  for  selection  alone  gives  opportunity  for  a  fair  and  effective 
concentration.  Concentration  of  the  curriculum  without  the  inner  concentration  of 
the  pupil  means  nothing;  and  this  will  never  be  secured  without  first  establishing 
sympathetic  relations  between  the  pupil  and  his  work. 


V.  A  SUGGESTED  SOLUTION  OF  VERMONT'S  HIGH  SCHOOL  PROBLEM 

It  requires  no  long  survey  to  discover  that  the  problem  of  secondary  education  in 
Vermont  has  the  rural  situation  as  its  central  factor.  A  large  number  of  small  towns 
and  villages  serve  as  centres  for  a  widely  scattered  farming  population.  Compara- 
tive isolation,  owing  to  tardy  growth  of  means  of  communication,  has  preserved  and 
fostered  a  spirit  of  local  patriotism  and  independence.  In  many  of  these  centres  an 
admirable  impulse  has  created  and  clung  with  tenacity  to  the  only  known  means  to 
higher  education,  a  public  high  school  or  academy.  To  propose  their  radical  modi- 
fication is  allowable  only  where  it  is  obvious  that  these  communities  are  not  secur- 
ing the  educational  opportunities  that  they  so  earnestly  desire  and  think  that  they 
are  getting.  Education  in  the  world  without  is  so  rapidly  and  so  fundamentally  chang- 
ing; its  aims  and  methods  that  the  cherished  institutions  of  these  smaller  towns 
are  now,  and  in  their  present  form  must  always  be,  hopelessly  in  an*ears.  With  the 
improvement  of  transportation,  however,  the  community  spirit  grows  more  compre- 
hensive, and  combines  with  that  of  other  communities  into  a  larger  whole.  What  one 
town  cannot  adequately  do  for  itself,  several  towns  can  accomplish  together. 

The  one-teacher  schools  in  Group  IV,  remote  though  many  of  them  are  and  oper- 
ating under  heavy  handicap,  should  by  all  means  be  preserved  and  strengthened. 


98  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Although  only  a  two-year  school,  each  is  a  focus  for  better  living  and  higher  ideals 
and  should  steadily  gather  in  more  of  the  surrounding  youth  under  its  influence.  The 
disadvantages  of  its  unsuitable  curriculum  and  wasteful  form  of  organization  may 
be  remedied  as  indicated  below,  and  the  school  be  turned  into  a  live,  economical,  and 
profitable  servant  of  the  community. 

Of  the  next  two  groups,  the  two-teacher  and  three-teacher  schools,  not  so  much 
can  be  said.  All  of  them  are  aiming  at  a  goal  that  is  beyond  them,  and  should 
be  frankly  disavowed.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  two-teacher  schools — little, 
straining,  distorted  institutions,  excessively  expensive  and  excessively  wasteful  in 
proportion  to  their  service.  Certainly  in  their  present  form  there  is  no  point  of  view 
from  which  they  can  be  justified,  in  spite  of  the  many  and  capable  men  and  women 
of  unconquerable  native  talent  who  have  come  through  them.  The  tables  in  Part  III 
set  forth  more  clearly  than  any  words  can  the  conditions  under  which  these  schools 
must  operate.  The  salaries  of  the  teachers  are  so  low  that  no  college  man  or  woman 
can  afford  to  take  them  except  as  an  unlucky  last  chance.  This  situation  is  redeemed 
only  through  notable  exceptions,  due  usually  to  special  circumstances,  such  as  home 
connections  in  the  village;  one  of  the  ablest  teachers  observed  in  the  state  was,  on 
this  account,  at  work  in  an  otherwise  wholly  inefficient  school.  Save  in  rare  cases,  the 
burden  of  subject  and  of  class  changes  is  so  great  as  absolutely  to  preclude  effective 
instruction.  This,  combined  with  a  characteristic  widespread  lack  of  experience  on  the 
part  of  both  principal  and  assistant,  and  an  exceedingly  abstract  curriculum,  pre- 
sents a  situation  requiring  monumental  endurance  from  even  a  determined  pupil,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  wavering  pupil  whom  education  seeks  more  and  more  to  reach  and 
hold.  The  two-teacher  type  of  school  is  thus  an  actual  discouragement  to  education. 

In  addition  it  is  expensive.  In  the  discussion  of  the  financial  aspects  of  the  curricu- 
lum it  was  apparent  that  the  cost  per  pupil  of  the  two-teacher  schools  is  high,  and 
would  be  enormous  if  the  salaries  were  equalized.  This  is  due,  of  course,  to  the  small 
classes  of  from  one  to  five  pupils  which,  in  the  upper  years,  a  small  school  makes  neces- 
sary. When  a  teacher  who  can  teach  a  class  of  twenty  as  successfully  as  a  class  of 
two  is  employed  on  the  class  of  two,  her  performance  is  clearly  but  one-tenth  of  what 
it  might  be.  When,  in  addition,  the  teaching  even  of  the  two  is  not  good,  a  town  is 
paying  a  doubly  extravagant  price  for  what  it  gets. 

If  it  is  proposed  to  improve  such  a  school  in  its  present  form,  much  more  money 
must  be  put  into  it  for  salaries  and  equipment,  even  if  it  be  limited  to  a  special 
course,  such  as  the  commercial  course.  This  is  a  luxury  that  probably  few  towns 
will  allow  themselves.  It  is,  moreover,  a  policy  that  is  economically  indefensible,  ex- 
cept where  no  other  resource  is  available.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  easily  possible  to 
restrict  and  intensify  these  schools  with  every  prospect  of  success.  It  is  clear  from 
the  tables  that  have  been  referred  to  that  the  financial  waste  is  largely  in  the  upper 
years,  where  classes  are  thinned  by  failure  or  economic  necessity,  and  the  courses  are 
highly  specialized.  Just  as  the  university  or  college  finds  its  later  courses  its  heaviest 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  99 

burden,  and  equipment  for  them,  under  modern  methods,  an  almost  limitless  expense, 
so  the  secondary  school,  if  it  does  standard  work,  finds  that  heavy  laboratory  and 
equipment  charges,  small  classes,  and  costly  instruction  are  especially  characteristic 
of  the  third  and  fourth  years.  Just  as  many  colleges  are  relegating  such  work  to  the 
universities,  and  the  elementary  schools  are  centralizing  it  in  the  union  schools,  so 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  two-teacher  high  school  similarly  to  abandon  this  double  load 
of  expense  and  obvious  shortcoming  and  relinquish  its  last  two  years  to  central  high 
schools  designed  not  for  any  one  town  or  a  city,  but  for  the  needs  of  an  entire  region 
or  district.  The  support  of  such  a  central  school  would  devolve  pro  rata  on  all  towns 
that  contribute  to  its  patronage,  and  it  should  have  liberal  assistance  from  the  state. 
There  would  develop  thus  a  strong,  well-equipped  high  school,  organized  in  its  lower 
years  for  the  needs  of  its  immediate  locality,  and  in  its  two  upper  years  presenting 
a  rich,  highly  differentiated  curriculum  fitted  to  attract  and  train  all  the  youth 
of  genuine  ability  of  the  district,  and,  because  of  its  numbers,  working  economically 
and  effectively.  The  small  community  would  indeed  cease,  in  that  case,  to  have  the 
doubtful  glory  of  possessing  a  "first-class"  high  school;  but  it  would  have  the  gen- 
uine satisfaction  of  possessing,  along  with  neighboring  towns  and  on  equal  terms 
with  them,  opportunities  for  secondary  schooling  unsurpassed  anywhere  in  the  state. 

The  lower  half  of  the  high  school  thus  divided  might  then  proceed  to  avail  itself 
of  one  of  the  finest  educational  opportunities  ever  presented.  It  could  make  a  com- 
plete revision  of  its  unsuitable  curriculum  and  its  wasteful  organization.  The  first 
step  would  be  the  consolidation  of  the  first  two  years  of  high  school  with  the  sev- 
enth and  eighth  grades  of  the  elementary  school  into  a  compact,  closely  articulated 
school  unit,  to  be  known,  possibly,  as  a  junior  or  intermediate  high  school.^ 

The  considerations  favoring  the  creation  of  a  new  school  unit  of  this  sort  are  of 
unusual  weight.  In  the  first  place,  a  course  beginning  with  the  seventh  grade  puts 
the  point  of  cleavage  at  about  the  age  of  the  great  natural  divide  in  youth"'s  expe- 
rience. All  who  deal  with  children  at  this  age  know  that  the  adolescent  is  in  a  differ- 
ent world  from  that  which  surrounds  a  child  one  or  two  years  younger.  The  years 
at  this  stage  should  deal  with  the  rush  of  new  impulses  and  activities  in  a  wholly 
different  manner  from  that  familiar  in  the  "grammar""  school.  They  should  be  planned 
expressly  for  adolescents  instead  of  passing,  as  now,  in  a  desultory  conclusion  to  the 
intermediate  grades.  In  the  second  place,  a  well-constructed  junior  high  school  course 
would  close  up  the  gap,  now  wofully  broad,  between  the  grades  and  high  school.^ 

'  This  susrgestion  assumes  that  the  ninth  prade  is  destined  to  disappear  from  the  elementary  school  in  Vermont  as 
it  has  done  elsewhere,  —a  movement  already  well  under  way. 

*  Vermont  does  not  know  exactly  how  many  pupils  it  loses  at  this  point.  The  percentage  of  grammar  school  grnd- 
uate.t  who  go  to  high  school  seems  fairly  high,  and  it  is  always  this  that  is  offered  one  enquiring  about  the  matter. 
The  loss  is  of  course  great,  as  the  preliminary  statistics  show,  and  is  chiefly  among  the  non-graduates  of  the  ele- 
mentary school,  who  slip  away  unnoticed,  though  they  perhaps  need  some  form  of  high  school  most  of  all.  Bur- 
lington in  1912  sent  to  high  school  56  per  cent  of  her  grammar  school  graduates,  but  only  28  per  cent  of  those  who 
left  her  elementary  schools.  At  St.  Albans  in  1912,  80  left  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  alone  by  graduation  or 
otherwise  ;  45  per  cent  of  these  entered  high  school  ;  of  the  graduates,  55  per  cent  were  admitted. 


100  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Taking  the  child  while  still  of  compulsory  school  age,  the  aim  should  be  to  hold  him 
through  full  four  years.  The  failure  of  the  present  type  of  high  school  to  do  this  is 
not  greatly  to  be  wondered  at,  and  need  not  necessarily  cause  misgivings.  The  junior 
school  would  be  much  more  sensitive  to  the  causes  of  such  failure,  and  could  treat 
them  with  a  better  chance  of  success  than  the  present  organization.  Again,  the  leav- 
ing age  in  such  a  school  would  meet  what  appears  to  be  a  genuine  demand.  This  is 
shown  most  strongly,  perhaps,  in  the  great  elimination  at  the  end  of  the  first  and 
second  years  of  the  high  school  as  it  is  constituted  at  present.  Many  other  indications 
show  that  a  form  of  school  would  be  welcomed  which,  while  an  appreciable  advance 
upon  the  elementary  school,  would  set  boys  at  work  at  about  the  age  of  sixteen.^ 
Finally,  reference  may  be  made  to  the  physical  ease  with  which  the  proposal  could 
be  carried  out.  Practically  all  of  the  schools  that  this  arrangement  would  affect  are 
already  housed  with  the  elementary  grades,  and  reconstruction  would  be  wholly  or 
largely  an  internal  problem. 

Outward  reorganization,  however,  would  mean  little  or  nothing  without  a  thor- 
oughgoing revision  of  the  curriculum.  Such  a  revision  will  require  prolonged  study 
of  the  local  field  and  the  cooperation  of  many  individuals.  It  is  possible,  neverthe- 
less, to  indicate  the  general  hues  upon  which  it  might  well  proceed.  Certain  central 
ideas  should  be  clearly  defined  at  the  outset.  First,  the  course  should  represent  ac- 
quirement and  training  of  recognized  value  to  such  pupils  as  may  receive  no  further 
education.  Moreover,  this  value  must  be  such  as  can  be  appreciated  by  the  average 
parent,  and,  to  no  slight  degree,  by  the  pupil  himself.  Second,  the  cumculum  should 
be  based  predominantly  upon  the  environment,  and  find  its  points  of  departure 
and  return  in  community  activities  and  needs.  Third,  the  course  must  fit  in  with  the 
central  school  through  which  the  avenue  to  higher  education  must  be  kept  open. 
In  addition  to  these  fundamental  principles  of  organization  there  must  be  freedom 
and  elasticity  within  individual  courses,  and  a  relentless  insistence  upon  the  training, 
personality,  and  responsibility  of  the  teachers. 

All  of  this  would  involve  some  such  modifications  as  the  following :  The  instruc- 
tion in  English  should  alter  its  method.  Instead  of  four  years  of  formal  grammar 
and  rhetoric,  with  composition  and  the  reading  of  certain  English  and  American 
classics,  the  course  should  become  essentially  informational,  with  emphasis  upon  oral 
and  wTitten  expression;  the  constant  use  of  the  language  on  interesting  matter,  with 
continual  but  tactful  pruning  of  glaring  faults,  should  be  relied  upon,  rather  than 

*  There  is  particularly  successful  foreign  experience  in  support  of  this.  The  Realschulen  in  Germany  perform  for  a 
restricted  class  what  the  junior  high  school  would  do  for  all.  They  bring  a  youth  to  his  sixteenth  or  seventeenth  year 
with  opportunity  either  to  stop  and  begin  business  or  to  go  on  to  the  three  higher  years  of  the  Oberrealschulen ; 
furthermore,  they  fit  the  small  community  precisely  as  here  contemplated  in  thecaseof  the  junior  highschool.  In  Eng- 
land the  higher  elementary  schools,  especially  as  organized  in  the  new  Central  Schools  of  London,  cover  the  same 
ground  from  the  12th  to  the  16th  years.  Admitting  on  competitive  examination  when  the  child  is  eleven  years  old, 
they  follow  free,  elastic  courses  for  the  better  minds  who  do  not  enter  the  secondary  schools.  These  are  thoroughly 
admirable  institutions,  but  their  weakness  is  their  failure  to  articulate  with  the  higher  schools  as  the  Realschulen 
do,  and  as  the  proposed  junior  high  schools  should  most  certainly  do. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  101 

formal  analysis  and  drill.  Oral  work,  now  greatly  neglected,  should  probably  be  given 
a  leading  place  in  themes,  arguments,  stories,  and  so  on,  with  the  purpose  of  arous- 
ing as  strong  a  mental  reaction  as  possible  to  topics  of  Hvely  interest.  A  minimum 
of  writing  should  be  called  for  merely  for  the  sake  of  practice.  A  rich  content  that 
invites  or  compels  expression  should  be  the  habitual  occasion  for  it.  As  for  literature 
in  the  junior  high  school,  it  would  seem  that  few  teachers,  at  present,  feel  that  they 
are  accomplishing  their  avowed  aim,  namely,  to  instill  appreciation  for  good  litera- 
ture. Especially  is  this  true  for  such  pupils  as  leave  high  school  after  one  or  two  years' 
attendance.  These  surely  have  rare  recourse  to  classic  writers  for  pleasure  reading, 
and  the  school  has  shown  them  nothing  else.  Ought  not  the  school  to  make  it  its  first 
duty,  without  of  course  ignoring  the  classics,  to  open  up  and  illuminate  such  kinds 
of  literature  as  the  pupil  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  enjoy  permanently?  A  lad 
leaving  school  at  sixteen  thoroughly  appreciative  of  one  first-class  magazine,  might 
owe  much  to  his  education. 

Latin  should  unquestionably  disappear,  except  in  such  schools  as  are  large  enough 
to  offer  it  as  a  wisely  administered  elective.  Opportunity  may  be  given  in  the  central 
school  for  two  years  of  Latin  under  superior  conditions,  where  those  who  go  to  col- 
lege and  possibly  have  plans  for  studying  law,  medicine,  or  philology  may  secure  a 
foundation  which  the  college  should  recognize  and  plan  to  meet.  Certainly  the  jun- 
ior high  school,  with  its  small  demand  for  Latin  and  its  still  smaller  use  for  it  after 
graduation,  should  no  longer  continue  the  relatively  large  expense,  not  to  mention  the 
injustice,  that  it  entails.  As  a  substitute  for  Latin,  schools  large  enough  to  afford  it 
should  offer  a  course  in  French  or  German,  as  local  considerations  may  dictate ;  but  this 
should  not  be  introduced  at  the  expense  of  work  that  is  fundamental  and  necessary.  If 
given,  it  could  well  cover  the  entire  four  years  of  the  school,  and  those  going  thence  to 
the  central  school  could  secure  two  additional  years,  thus  winning  for  their  six  years' 
work  a  real  command  of  the  language,  both  in  speech  and  in  writing.  The  instruction 
should  be  by  the  "direct"  method  from  the  outset,  and  in  the  third  and  fourth  years 
the  new  medium  should  be  applied  to  content  having  value  in  other  courses.  This 
subject  would  make  the  severest  demands  on  the  teacher, — demands  that  could  not 
at  present  be  fulfilled,  but  which  could  certainly  be  met  in  time. 

Ancient  and  mediaeval  history,  as  now  given,  should  be  dropped  from  the  junior 
school.  They  are  not  only  a  complete  waste  of  time,  but  an  actual  sacrifice  of  the 
pupiPs  natural  and  healthy  interest  in  human  life  and  institutions.  A  substitute  is 
easy  to  propose,  but  has  not  as  yet  been  organized  in  such  form  as  to  make  its  pre- 
sentation to  a  class  a  simple  matter.  We  need  a  graded  course  in  human  institutions, 
starting  always  fi*om  facts  and  conditions  familiar  to  the  pupil  of  to-day,  and  return- 
ing always  with  its  revelations  from  the  past  in  explanation  and  interpretation  of 
modem  life.  In  the  absence  of  a  text-book  or  outline  of  this  nature,  and  while  waiting 
for  them,  the  best  expedient  is  doubtless  to  retain  the  respective  fields  about  as  they 
are,  together  with  the  best  of  their  texts,  but  to  liberate  the  teacher.  Any  teacher  suffi- 


102  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

cientlv  trained  to  be  entrusted  with  a  course  in  history  at  all,  especially  if  he  has  had 
some  work  in  social  science  in  college,  should  be  able  to  develop  sufficient  power  at 
the  significant  spots  in  these  historical  fields  really  to  make  them  glow  for  a  class. 
To  do  so,  however,  it  must  be  a  question  solely  of  himself  and  the  class;  not  of  any 
exterior  "requirements."  Formal  geography  has  heretofore  been  considered  the  prop- 
erty of  the  elementary  school.  There  is  no  reason,  apparently,  why  a  kind  of  social 
and  economic  geography  should  not  be  carried  along  with  the  history  and  receive 
there  the  emphasis  that  it  deserves. 

In  mathematics  the  new  organization  would  give  opportunity  for  some  important 
modifications.  In  the  first  place,  the  formal  work  in  arithmetic  might  well  be  broken 
up  into  concrete  project  work  in  connection  with  the  practical  arts,  and  be  kept  up 
throughout  the  course.  Civics  gives  opportunity  for  study  of  town  and  state  budg- 
ets in  graphic  fashion ;  personal  expense  budgets,  estimates  for  materials,  labor,  and 
profit  in  shop  enterprises  and  in  the  kitchen  furnish  endless  problems.  Even  baseball 
averages,  problems  in  aviation,  motoring,  or  wheeling  make  the  usually  dull  ab- 
stractions take  on  new  significance.  Second,  it  would  probably  be  possible  to  intro- 
duce algebra  one  full  year  earlier  than  at  present,  if  this  should  prove  desirable, 
either  to  enable  bright  pupils  to  reach  college  earlier  or  to  make  way  for  something 
else.  Geometry  would  follow,  and  both  of  these  should  be  subjected  to  a  thorough 
revision  in  view  of  the  needs  of  the  large  number  who  would  not  continue  in  the 
central  school;  the  practical  applications  of  algebra  and  geometry  have  scarcely  been 
touched.  On  the  other  hand,  the  review  mathematics  as  now  given  in  the  last  year 
of  high  school  could  be  trusted  to  prepare  specifically  for  college. 

A  new  and  promising  first  year  course  in  "  general  science  "  has  appeared  in  a  few 
schools  and  has  met  with  deserved  success.  It  consists  of  a  not  wholly  disconnected 
treatment  of  the  most  familiar  or  striking  phenomena  in  several  scientific  fields, 
chiefly  physics,  chemistry,  and  biology,  and  deduces  its  few  general  principles  always 
after  a  careful  examination  or  experiment  wdth  the  object  or  apparatus,  —  camera, 
telephone,  battery,  and  so  on.  This  thoroughly  practical  course  can  be  made  of  the 
utmost  value  to  boys  and  girls  of  this  period.  It  should  prepare  in  a  way  for  physics 
and  chemistry  in  the  central  school,  but  its  chief  concern  should  be  the  boy  or  girl 
who  must  leave  school  at  sixteen. 

Coming  now  to  the  so-called  practical  arts,  attention  is  invited  to  those  forms  of 
training  which,  although  far  from  dominating  the  curriculum  in  themselves,  may  be 
relied  upon  to  give  variety  and  vitality  to  the  program,  to  balance  the  excessive  book- 
ishness  of  our  past  schooling  with  purposeful  motor- training,  and  to  lay  open  to  many 
subjects  whole  new  fields  of  application  and  illustration.  It  is  becoming  more  and 
more  clear  that  knowledge  is  of  immensely  greater  accuracy  and  permanence  when 
a  motor  reaction  is  involved,  that  is,  when  the  child  does  the  thing ;  hence  the  great 
wisdom,  wherever  possible,  of  translating  abstractions  into  their  concrete,  applied 
forms ;  there  will  remain  enough  abstractions  at  best.  When,  at  the  same  time,  these 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  103 

pursuits  have  a  great  practical  value  for  life,  their  educational  value  is  enhanced.  So 
far  from  impoverishment,  it  is  believed  that  the  genuine  though  latent  cultural  associa- 
tions of  what  are  sometimes  scornfully  termed  "mere  vocational  subjects"  are  wholly 
unrealized,  and  are  susceptible  of  enormous  development.  Courses  in  constructive 
woodwork,  in  domestic  science,  in  elementary  agriculture,  are,  therefore,  most  warmly 
to  be  welcomed  and  used,  not  in  any  petty  spirit,  but  as  charged  with  an  abundance 
of  educational  significance  that  no  school  can  afford  to  miss.  It  is  probable,  too, 
that  stenography  and  typewriting  should  eventually  find  a  place  in  a  school  of  this 
kind,  not  wholly  for  their  vocational  value,  but  as  extremely  convenient  tools  that 
any  one  may  acquire. 

These  are  the  outlines,  roughly  sketched,  of  a  school  form  which,  if  well  equipped, 
should  be  able  to  hold  throughout  its  course  all  normal  pupils  of  suitable  age,  and  to 
be  of  decided  value  to  them.  They  should  be  admitted  directly  from  all  six-grade  ele- 
mentary schools  without  examination  other  than  those  usually  given  in  their  classes.^ 
It  should  be  the  policy  of  the  junior  high  school  to  admit  freely  almost  any  pupil 
and  do  its  best  by  each,  but  to  use  considerable  discrimination  in  the  pupils  that  are 
sent  on  to  the  central  school.  It  is  clear  that  a  school  of  this  type  could  not  be  suc- 
cessfully organized  without  at  least  three  teachers,  and  these,  too,  of  a  training  and 
ability  much  above  the  present  level  in  thfe  small  institutions.  The  curriculum  as 
outlined  above  may  appear  at  first  sight  a  sort  of  omnium-gatherum  in  its  variety, 
requiring  a  large  staff.  This  is  not  the  case;  it  will,  however,  require  a  reorganiza- 
tion of  preparation.  Its  units  are  no  longer  nicely  adjusted  to  college  courses,  but 
demand  a  fundamental  training  for  the  purpose.  Teachers  so  trained,  and  operating 
with  an  elastic  program,  would,  it  is  believed,  prove  the  new  curriculum  to  be  more 
economical  than  the  old.  The  principal  should  preferably  be  a  man,  one  with  train- 
ing in  agriculture  and  the  problems  of  rural  life.  The  ideal  teachers  would  be  those 
especially  prepared  for  this  work  in  the  training-school  advocated  in  another  section ; 
otherwise  college  graduates  who  have  had  training  in  teaching  should  be  employed. 
Although  the  expectation  of  the  school  would  be  to  give  such  subjects  as  should 
keep  its  classes  full  throughout  the  course,  certain  economies  of  instruction  would 
be  feasible  in  small  communities.  Thus,  the  four  classes  in  English  could  profitably 
be  taught  in  two  groups,  and  their  material  could  well  be  drawn  from  their  history 
and  general  science.  Arithmetic  also,  as  indicated  above,  should  largely  appear  in 
applied  forms  in  other  classes.  Such  arrangements  would,  of  course,  require  some 
skill,  but  would  not  be  difficult.^ 

Turning  once  more  to  the  central  high  school,  a  few  main  features  may  be  pointed 
out.  This,  in  its  two  higher  years,  is  the  school  for  boys  and  girls  whose  abilities  have 
been  tested  in  the  junior  school,  and  who  know  rather  definitely  what  they  want  to  do. 

*It  is  here  assumed  that  the  changes  in  the  elementary  school  suggested  elsewhere  have  been  made. 
*  A  careful  survey  vcith  the  local  superintendents  of  the  school  population  in  seven  towns  in  Lamoille  County 
showed  that  at  least  80  percent  of  the  school  children  twelve  years  of  age  or  over  were  within  reach  Cthree  milesl  of 
centres  where  junior  high  schools  would  naturally  be  organized. 


104  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Here,  therefoi-e,  are  concentrated  the  studies  specifically  preparing  for  college.  Latin, 
French,  or  German  could  doubtless  be  taught  here  throughout  the  full  six-year  cur- 
riculum with  reasonable  economy,  though  special  classes  would  be  necessary  during 
the  last  two  years  for  pupils  coming  from  other  junior  schools.  Parallel  with  these, 
and  of  equal  dignity,  intensity,  and  thoroughness,  should  appear  a  two  years'  course 
in  agriculture  and  another  in  domestic  science.  Teacher  training  for  the  elementary 
schools  should  be  organized  as  a  vocational  course  for  girls,  and  courses  in  music,  in 
drawing  and  designing,  in  wood  and  metal  working  should  be  available.  It  is,  in  short, 
the  school  that  aims  to  organize  and  conduct  any  form  of  instruction  that  can  be 
shown  to  be  of  value  and  to  be  demanded  by  a  considerable  number  of  boys  and  girls 
of  high  school  age.  It  is  emphatically  a  people's  school;  it  aims  to  affiliate  with  all 
other  effective  educational  enterprises,  and  to  cooperate,  so  far  as  its  equipment  per- 
mits, with  industrial  or  mercantile  establishments  in  training  their  employees.  It  is 
just  as  emphatically  not  a  trade  school  or  a  vocational  school  in  the  sense  of  being 
limited  to  the  drilling  of  pupils  in  the  series  of  mechanical  processes  to  be  found  in 
office,  shop,  or  factory.  Many  of  these  it  must,  of  course,  include,  but  its  aim  is,  by 
means  of  teachers,  themselves  cultured  and  trained  for  the  task,  to  organize  and  teach 
the  fundamentals  of  human  activities,  to  develop  and  enforce  their  human  significance, 
to  set  them  in  their  large  and  vital  relationships;  and  only  those  activities  which  pos- 
sess such  significance  and  relationships  should  be  included  in  its  curriculum.  Articu- 
lation with  the  junior  school,  just  as  with  the  college  or  technical  school,  should  be 
complete  and  without  examination. 

In  its  four  junior  years  the  central  high  school  may  well  differ  somewhat  from  the 
junior  high  school  standing  alone.  Vermont's  narrower  vocational  problem  should 
find  here  the  beginning  of  a  successful  solution.  There  is  a  large  proportion  of  ado- 
lescent cliildren  to  whom  the  more  general  course  already  outlined  does  not  appeal, 
whether  for  economic  or  personal  reasons  affecting  themselves  or  their  parents.  For 
these  a  profitable  and  satisfactory  form  of  training  must  be  devised.  For  Vermont 
the  obvious  initial  step  in  this  direction  is  a  vocational  course  in  agriculture  for  boys 
from  twelve  to  sixteen  years  of  age.  Those  who  take  the  higher  course  in  agriculture 
in  the  upper  years  are  likely  to  turn  out  as  farm  managers  or  teachers  of  agriculture, 
frequently  going  on  to  the  Agricultural  College.  The  junior  central  school,  on  the 
other  hand,  should  aim  to  produce  successful  farmers.  No  effort  should  be  spared  to 
make  this  course  serve  the  community ;  its  practical  value  should  be  its  reason  for  exist- 
ence. The  same  laboratories,  grounds,  and  equipment  would  accommodate  both  higher 
and  lower  classes,  and  a  trained  director  would  be  in  charge  of  the  entire  department. 
If  such  courses  were  organized  in  all  junior  central  schools,  there  would  be  from  15 
to  18  centres  for  instruction  in  farming,  elementary,  to  be  sure,  but  thorough.  This 
distribution  of  opportunity  would  meet  the  local  needs  with  speed  and  economy 
pending  the  gradual  development  of  special  schools  having  larger  facilities.  What  is 
true  of  agriculture  applies  equally  to  other  forms  of  vocational  training.  The  ideal 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  105 

of  the  junior  central  school  should  be,  within  the  limits  of  its  funds,  to  provide  means 
whereby  every  child  of  suitable  age  may  discover  his  personal  resources,  however  slen- 
der they  may  be,  and  become  accustomed  to  command  them  with  confidence. 

In  going  to  the  central  school  from  a  distance,  many  pupils  would  necessarily  be 
obliged  to  remain  for  the  week  at  least,  —  a  practice  already  common  at  most  of  the 
larger  high  schools  in  Vermont.  Greatly  to  increase  this  practice  involves  two  impor- 
tant considerations,  supervision  and  expense.  One  reason  for  dividing  the  high  school 
as  suggested,  giving  a  junior  school  of  four  years  and  an  additional  central  school 
course  of  two  years,  instead  of  devoting  three  years  to  each,  is  that  the  new  plan  post- 
pones home-leaving  to  the  latest  possible  point, — a  consideration  of  much  importance 
where  many  are  involved.  This  would  not  usually  take  place  then  before  the  age  of 
seventeen, — an  age  of  reasonable  discretion,  when  supervision  such  as  a  high  school 
staff  could  exercise  would  be  effective.  Experience  at  such  places  as  Randolph  or  Fair- 
fax goes  to  show  that  even  considerable  colonies  of  young  people  are  wholly  manage- 
able without  dormitories.  With  such  changes  as  have  been  suggested  the  central  school 
would  necessarily  assume  this  care  as  one  of  its  important  functions  and  one  not  with- 
out its  educational  opportunities;  a  house  for  self-boarders,  or  a  general  commons 
for  outside  pupils,  would  furnish  the  domestic  science  department  an  unusual  field  for 
displaying  its  efficiency  in  a  thoroughly  practical  way.^ 

A  more  difficult  problem  is  that  of  equalizing  for  all  pupils,  near  and  remote,  the 
expense  of  attending  a  central  school.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  conversion  of 
fifty-eight  small  high  schools  into  less  than  a  score  of  strong  and  relatively  large 
ones  will  breed  hardship  for  some.  It  is  probable  that  this  can  be  met  for  the  time 
being  in  but  one  way — that  of  personal  sacrifice,  although  it  is  possible  that  some 
future  development  in  public  policy  may  assign  this  margin  of  expense  to  the  state. 
In  either  case  no  question  can  arise  from  this  source  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  proposed 
plan.  The  convenience  of  a  few  pupils  can  never  warrant  the  sacrifice  of  the  welfare 
of  the  many  in  maintaining  a  series  of  institutions  each  mediocre  in  itself  and  col- 
lectively standing  in  the  way  of  genuine  excellence  on  the  part  of  any.  A  thoroughly 
good  school  is  its  own  excuse  for  being.  A  first-class  junior  high  school  in  full  career 
on  sound  principles  is  surely  a  community  asset  far  superior  to  an  imitation  of 
a  four-year  institution  that  limps  half-starved  to  no  recognized  goal. 

The  centralized  policy  will,  of  course,  be  more  expensive  than  the  present.  In  spite 
of  its  high  costs  per  pupil,  the  small  two-teacher  school  costs  less  on  the  whole ;  the 
final  objection  to  it  is  not  its  costs,  but  its  inefficiency.  The  final  question  must  be 
not,  For  how  small  a  number  can  an  institution,  by  courtesy  called  a  "high  school," 
be  run  ?  but.  How  many  boys  and  girls  can  we,  or  are  we  willing,  to  bring  within  reach 
of  opportunities  for  secondary  education  that  are  adequate  and  satisfactory  .'^ 

•  The  high  school  at  Brookeville,  Maryland,  has  rooming  and  boarding:  accommodations  for  nearly  20  pupils  in  its 
special  domestic  science  building.  These  come  in  on  Monday  and  return  home  on  Friday  night.  See  the  Educational 
Survey  of  Montgomery  County,  Marijland,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  No.  32,  page  29. 


106  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Such,  in  its  broad  outlines,  is  a  scheme  of  organization  which,  it  is  beheved,  would 
place  Vermont's  secondary  schools  upon  a  sound  educational  footing,  and  would 
prove  as  economical  financially  as  is  consistent  with  bona  fide  results.  It  is  scarcely 
within  the  province  of  the  present  enquiry  to  work  out  the  plan  in  greater  detail. 
Of  course  no  plan  of  such  far-reaching  importance  should  be  undertaken  except  after 
a  careful  study,  on  the  part  of  a  competent  and  disinterested  board,  of  the  many  local 
factors  which  enter  in.  The  selection  and  development  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  central 
high  schools  is  a  matter  requiring  tact,  patience,  and  persistence;  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  junior  high  schools  in  place  of  the  old  four-year  institutions,  together  with 
the  fresh  establishment  of  such  schools  in  promising  centres,  is  a  task  calling  for  many 
years  of  planning  and  attentive  promotion.  The  immediate  concern  is  that  the  policy 
undertaken  be  suited  to  the  people  and  conditions  in  the  state  of  Vermont,  that  it 
be  educationally  justifiable,  and  that  its  realization  be  financially  reasonable. 


VI.  A  SUMMARY  OF  RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR  THE  IMPROVEMENT 
OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

l.A  school  census  to  be  freshly  and  thoroughly  prepared  annually  under  the 
supervision  of  the  local  superintendent  of  schools  and  to  include  a  list  of  all  chil- 
dren from  five  to  eighteen  years  of  age  inclusive,  together  with  information  as  to 
their  nationality,  the  occupation  of  their  parents,  and  their  previous  movements  and 
schooling. 

2.  A  classification  of  schools  based  upon  the  elements  of  school  efficiency,  includ- 
ing the  extent  and  condition  of  grounds,  buildings,  and  equipment;  the  number, 
qualifications,  hours,  and  salaries  of  principals  and  teachers;  the  range  and  quality 
of  the  curriculum  and  program ;  and  the  spirit  and  attitude  characteristic  of  the 
institution  as  a  whole.  The  educational  authority  should  establish  standards  in  all 
these  particulars,  but  fixed  rules  for  a  mechanical  classification  should  not  be  made. 
The  classification  should  proceed  rather  from  an  intelligent  appraisal  of  each  insti- 
tution on  its  merits,  allowance  being  made  for  all  compensating  features. 

3.  The  appointment  of  a  qualified  director  of  secondary  education  to  be  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  state  commissioner  of  education  and  to  act  as  his  agent.  His  duties 
should  be  those  of  an  inspector  and  adviser.  As  inspector,  he  should  appraise  the 
plant  and  operation  of  all  secondary  institutions,  and,  with  the  approval  of  the  com- 
missioner, should  determine  individual  assignments  in  respect  to  school  classification, 
state  aid,  and  certificates  to  secondary  teachers.  In  his  advisory  capacity  he  should 
understand  and  represent  the  state's  ideal  in  secondary  education;  he  should  hold 
himself  at  the  disposal  of  school  committees  and  of  all  secondary  school  officials 
throughout  the  state  for  counsel  and  advice,  and  when  these  are  not  asked,  should  be 
capable  of  exerting  persuasive  initiative. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  107 

4.  The  incorporation  of  the  secondary  schools  everywhere  as  an  integral  portion  of 
a  single,  compactly  organized  school  system  for  each  locality,  and  therefore  subject 
to  a  common,  local,  supervising  head.  In  case  the  organization  contemplated  in  Rec- 
ommendation 10  is  adopted,  it  would  be  advisable  to  make  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
local  superintendent  coextensive  with  the  regional  high  school  district.  That  officer 
should  then  be  the  first  educational  official  of  the  district,  and  be  trained  and  paid 
accordingly.  Vermont  would  thus  possess,  in  the  place  of  57  minor  superintendents, 
an  educational  council  of  from  15  to  20  competent  experts,  exercising  their  super- 
vision on  the  business  side  through  local  town  agents,  and  on  the  educational  side 
through  one  or  more  supervisors  appointed  by  themselves. 

5.  A  higher  standard  of  supervision.  There  should  be  a  progressive  insistence 
upon  a  knowledge  on  the  part  of  principals  of  the  essential  characteristics  of  efficient 
supervision,  and  school  committees  should  be  required  to  release  an  adequate  amount 
of  the  principal's  time,  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  schools,  for  that  purpose. 

6.  A  higher  standard  of  qualification  for  teachers.  Teachers  at  present  employed 
in  the  state  should,  of  course,  be  continued,  but  the  director  of  secondary  education 
should  have  the  power  to  make  and  to  enforce  the  requirement  that  teachers  who  are 
conspicuously  deficient  in  training  in  those  subjects  that  they  are  teaching  either 
improve  their  condition  by  attendance  at  summer  schools  or  give  up  their  certifi- 
cates. The  state  is  not  so  large  that  for  this  purpose  it  may  not  best  be  treated  as 
a  city  system  and  each  teacher  be  considered  on  his  individual  merits.  For  subse- 
quent accessions  to  the  teaching  staff  the  requirements  should  be  increased.  No 
certificate  should  be  granted  merely  for  a  college  diploma;  to  be  of  value  to  the 
schools,  college  work  must  have  been  properly  focused.  It  is  not  too  early  now  to  de- 
mand 12  year-hours  of  college  work  in  each  field  offered  by  a  candidate  as  a  major 
for  teaching ;  that  is  actually  a  modest  requirement.  Six  year-hours  for  a  minor  with 
a  total  requirement  of  two  majors,  or  of  one  major  and  two  minors,  is  certainly  not 
too  much  to  ask.  To  this  must  be  added  in  practice,  the  stipulation  that  teachers  be 
employed  in  those  subjects  in  which  they  are  trained. 

A  further  requirement  would  possibly  do  more  as  an  example  to  promote  the 
training  of  secondary  teachers  at  large  than  any  other  one  thing.  The  state  should 
require  that  a  person  who  is  a  candidate  for  a  teaching  position  in  schools  of  the 
highest  class  must  have  had  actual  practice  in  teaching  of  not  less  than  five  periods 
per  week  for  one  semester,  under  the  supervision  and  criticism  of  a  competent  instruc- 
tor, in  an  approved  school  or  college  department  of  education.  It  is  undoubtedly 
true,  and  is  generally  acknowledged,  that  when  once  state  regulations  supply  the 
backing  for  this  proposal  the  colleges  will  meet  it  with  alacrity, 

7.  Improved  conditions  of  service  for  teachers.  These  include  reduction  in  the  num- 
ber of  classes  and  subjects  to  be  taught,  increase  of  capable  supervision,  and  gradual 
increase  in  salaries.  Together  with  the  provision  for  the  higher  qualification  of  teach- 
ers, these  modifications  are  of  the  first  importance  in  the  construction  of  effective 


108  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

educational  machinery.  They  will  devolve  naturally  upon  the  proposed  director  of 
secondary  education,  who  should  have  considerable  leverage  for  their  enforcement 
in  his  control  of  the  award  of  grades  of  school  classification  and  of  financial  aid.  A 
rise  in  the  general  level  of  ability  as  secured  in  prolonged  or  specialized  preparation 
is  inseparably  connected  with  increase  in  compensation.  A  wholesale  and  indiscrim- 
inate increase  of  salaries  is  not  desirable  and  can  easily  be  avoided  in  Vermont,  where 
a  series  of  small  schools  makes  the  classified  salary  system  of  large  cities  unneces- 
sary; but  it  is  most  desirable  that  as  much  money  as  possible  be  devoted,  on  a  strictly 
individual  basis  of  personal  merit,  to  inducing  trained  teachers  to  come  to  Vermont, 
and  to  retaining  such  teachers  already  in  the  state  as  are  clearly  of  exceptional  abil- 
ity or  promise.  Vermont's  policy  should  be  to  pay  well  for  ability  and  to  see  that 
she  gets  it.  For  a  town  to  refuse  the  deserved  increase  in  salary  to  retain  a  notably 
successful  teacher,  thereby  sacrificing  the  steady  excellence  of  its  schooling,  is  a  com- 
mon but  wholly  reprehensible  form  of  inefficient  management,  and  ought  not  to  be 
tolerated  by  the  state  unless  the  amount  of  money  needed  is  out  of  proportion  to 
the  grade  of  school  that  the  community  is  capable  of  supporting. 

8.  An  avowed  shift  of  emphasis  in  education  from  the  curriculum  to  the  child,  in- 
volving the  intimate  and  continuous  study  of  each  individual  child  to  determine  what 
his  characteristics  and  needs  are,  —  his  natural  latent  assets, — and  the  adaptation 
of  curriculum,  organization,  and  methods  of  the  school  to  the  development  of  those 
assets,  to  the  end  that  the  value — personal,  social,  and  economic — of  each  individ- 
ual may  be  increased  to  the  largest  possible  extent.  This  end  is  to  be  achieved: 

a.  Through  a  more  varied  offering,  especially  in  such  subjects  as  demand  an  active, 
concrete,  motor  response  or  application,  as  compared  with  a  solely  abstract,  passively 
absorptive,  verbal  reaction;  hence  the  practical  arts,  original  oral  expression  and 
composition,  mathematics  and  modern  languages  applied  to  a  stimulating  content, 
history  as  life-story  of  the  familiar  present,  and  so  on ; 

b.  Through  a  more  appropriate  offering,  contributing  to  the  education  of  each  child 
elements  that  will  illuminate  his  surroundings  and  prepare  him  directly  for  the  life 
and  work  that  probably  await  him ;  hence  particularly  agriculture  in  its  various  forms; 

c.  Through  more  elastic  courses,  allowing  to  skilled  and  experienced  teachers  lib- 
erty for  such  adaptation  as  their  insight  shows  to  be  appropriate  to  the  pupils  with 
whom  they  deal;  and 

d.  Through  a  serious  effort  to  secure  for  each  school  the  facilities  and  responsibil- 
ity for  dealing  individually  instead  of  schematically  with  its  pupils. 

This  recommendation  involves  a  delicate  and  difficult  readjustment.  It  can  be  ac- 
complished only  through  a  personnel  of  considerable  professional  ability,  to  prevent 
degeneration  into  a  pedagogical  chaos  as  injurious  as  the  mechanical  tendency  of  the 
present  rigid  system.  The  unifying  factors  should  be: 

(1)  Constant  and  painstaking  criticism  by  the  director  of  secondary  education, 
and 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  109 

(2)  Frequent  conferences  of  the  schoolmen  themselves  to  agree  upon  a  generous  min- 
imum in  their  courses  as  well  as  to  maintain  satisfactory  personal  and  professional 
standards. 

9.  A  persistent  and  careful  scrutiny  of  the  cost  of  the  curriculum  as  applied  in 
each  school,  with  a  view  to  securing  the  largest  actual  returns  for  the  money  invested. 
This  means  an  effort  to  realize  the  fidl  pupil-serving  power  of  every  teacher,  of  every 
piece  of  apparatus,  and  of  every  portion  of  the  plant.  It  should  lead  to  the  abandon- 
ment of  expensive  courses  for  a  few  specialized  students  unless,  as  is  often  possible 
with  pupils  having  initiative,  these  can  be  directed  informally.  Even  the  continuity 
of  a  course  involving  extravagant  expense  — for  one  or  two  pupils — might  well  be 
sacrificed  if  the  teacher's  time  or  salary  could  be  invested  elsewhere  to  greater  advan- 
tage. A  schematic  preparation  for  college  and  a  strong  desire  for  logical  consistency 
have  blinded  us  here  to  a  just  sense  of  actual  values. 

10.  A  general  reorganization  of  the  secondary  schools  on  the  principle  of  central- 
ization : 

(1)  The  development  of,  say,  15  to  18  central  and  readily  accessible  schools  into 
regional  high  schools  articulating  directly  with  all  neighboring  junior  high  schools 
(see  2),  and  having: 

a.  A  rich  and  comprehensive  two-year  curriculum  appropriate  to  the  youth  17  to 
19  years  of  age  drawn  from  the  surrounding  district; 

h.  A  four-year  junior  curriculum  as  in  (2),  but  including  special  vocational  op- 
portunities, particularly  in  agriculture,  for  pupils  from  12  to  16  years  of  age. 

c.  A  highly  trained  and  well-paid  staff; 

d.  Adequate  equipment  for  all  purposes; 

e.  Carefully  studied  provision  for  housing  and  supervising  pupils  who  come  from 
a  distance;  and 

f.  The  disposition  and  facilities  for  becoming  the  centres  of  the  intellectual  and 
social  life,  both  adolescent  and  adult,  of  the  group  of  towns  that  they  serve. 

(2)  The  reorganization  of  the  remaining  high  schools,  together  with  the  lower 
years  of  the  proposed  regional  high  schools,  into  junior  high  schools,  having: 

a.  A  four-year  curriculum,  elastic  in  administration,  but  limited  in  scope  by  the 
numbers  and  needs  of  the  local  boys  and  girls  12  to  16  years  of  age,  covering  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  of  the  present  elementary  school  and  the  first  two  years 
of  the  present  high  school ; 

h.  A  staff  trained,  particularly  with  reference  to  the  problems  of  the  i*ural  or  small 
community,  in  a  special  training-school ; 

c.  Equipment  appropriate  to  the  curriculum  presented;  and 

d.  The  primary  function  of  reaching  and  securing  the  greatest  possible  reaction 
from  every  child  in  the  community  who  is  from  12  to  16  years  of  age. 

11.  Provision  for  the  collection  and  interpretation  of  the  most  important  secondary 
school  statistics:  attendance  and  withdrawal  in  the  various  schools,  classes,  years, 


110  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

courses,  subjects;  success  and  failure  in  various  schools,  years,  courses,  and  subjects; 
sources  of  pupils  as  well  as  their  subsequent  performance  m  relation  to  their  school 
records;  and  costs  per  pupil  in  courses  and  subjects.  It  is  not  a  great  burden  to 
secure  such  data  when  the  task  is  systematized  and  distributed.  Intelligently  used,  they 
constitute  the  only  real  chart  for  educational  navigation  that  we  possess. 

William  S.  Learned. 


V 
THE  TRAINING,  CERTIFICATION,  AND  SUPPLY  OF 

TEACHERS 

This  section  presents:  (1)  an  historical  summary,  and  (2)  a  statement  of  the  sources 
of  its  information;  and  discusses  (3)  the  existing  situation  with  regard  to  (a)  normal 
schools,  (b)  training-classes,  (c)  supplementary  training,  and  (d)  the  certification  of 
teachers;  (4)  the  inadequacy  of  the  normal  schools;  (5)  the  success  of  the  training- 
classes;  and  (6)  a  central  training-school;  and  concludes  with  (7)  recommendations. 


1.  Historical  Summary 
The  training  of  teachers  for  the  elementary  schools  received  its  first  official  recog- 
nition and  support  in  Vermont  about  half  acentury  ago — in  1849  through  appropria- 
tions by  the  legislature  for  teachers  institutes,  and  in  1866-67  through  the  consti- 
tution of  three  state  normal  schools  out  of  three  county  gi'ammar  schools  (that  of 
Orange  County  at  Randolph  Centre,  that  of  Lamoille  County  at  Johnson,  and  that 
of  Rutland  County  at  Castleton).  The  prestige  conferred  upon  these  schools  by  this 
honor  evidently  did  service  in  lieu  of  material  support,  as  the  act  stipulated  that  they 
were  to  be  "established  and  maintained  without  any  expense  to  the  State."  ^  Aid  was 
shortly  forthcoming,  however,  in  the  form  of  annual  appropriations  for  scholarships,  to 
which  there  was  added,  in  1868,  a  small  appropriation  ($500)  for  each  school,  to  be 
expended  by  the  board  of  education  in  direct  assistance.  In  one  or  the  other  or  both  of 
these  two  forms  the  subsidy  to  these  normal  schools  has  been  steadily  increased  until, 
in  1910,  Johnson  and  Castleton  were  receiving  annually  SI 0,000  each;  the  school 
at  Randolph  was  converted  into  a  state  agricultural  school  in  that  year.  Established 
for  a  five-year  period,  the  schools  were  renewed  at  that  interval  until  1880;  two  ten- 
year  extensions  brought  them  to  1900,  when  they  were  continued  to  1920.  Their  early 
careers  were  apparently  prosperous — sufficiently  so  to  awaken  the  jealousy  of  neigh- 
boring academies  which,  in  1878,  seem  to  have  been  influential  enough  with  the  legis- 
lature to  compel  the  normal  schools  to  abandon  their  academic  courses  and  to  confine 
their  activities  wholly  to  the  training  of  teachers.  This  move  extinguished  what  had 
been  flourishing  and  profitable  departments,  what  had,  in  fact,  been  the  schools  them- 
selves until  the  state  developed  the  normal  feature,  and  the  institutions  became  hence- 
forth wholly  dependent  upon  the  state.  The  control  of  the  schools  was  vested  in  the 
board  of  education  from  the  outset,  so  far  at  least  as  concerned  admission,  courses  of 
study,  examinations  and  certificates,  and  the  appointment  of  the  principal.  The  trus- 
tees of  the  several  oritjinal  academies  were  continued  when  the  latter  became  normal 
schools,  though  the  board  of  education  had  sole  control  in  the  expenditure  of  state 

'  Acts  of  1866,  No.  1. 


112  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

funds.  When,  in  1874,  the  board  of  education  was  abolished,  its  duties  fell  to  the 
newly  created  state  superintendent,  who  acted,  however,  in  consultation  with  the 
trustees.  In  1894  control  reverted  to  a  board  known  as  the  Board  of  Normal  School 
Examiners,  Supervisors,  and  Commissioners,  and  later  (1898)  as  the  Board  of  Nor- 
mal School  Commissioners.  The  powers  of  this  latter  body  were  passed  on  in  turn  to 
the  board  of  education,  created  in  1908,  except  that  the  examination  and  certifica- 
tion of  teachers  was  centred  in  the  state  superintendent.  The  last  change  occurred  in 
1912,  when  the  normal  schools  came  under  their  present  management,  the  new  board 
of  education. 

The  three  schools  have  been  much  investigated  institutions.  No  less  than  five  spe- 
cial commissions  for  this  purpose  have  been  created  since  1886.  The  last  of  these,  in 
1908,  never  became  active.  Of  the  remaining  four,  the  first  two  (1886,  1894)  recom- 
mended the  abolition  of  the  prevailing  system  as  being  inadequate  for  its  purpose; 
the  third  (1896)  urged  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  schools  and  their  largely  in- 
creased support;  the  fourth  (1906)  advocated  the  establishment  of  a  new,  well-equipped 
school  in  a  relatively  large  and  accessible  town  to  replace  the  school  at  Randolph  Cen- 
tre, but  proposed  to  continue  the  schools  at  Castleton  and  Johnson  for  the  time  being 
with  moderate  appropriations.  Until  1910  the  Castleton  and  Johnson  normal  schools 
were  conducted  on  property  and  in  buildings  that  did  not  belong  to  the  state.  By  leg- 
islative enactment  of  that  year  (Acts  1910,  No.  70)  the  property  at  Castleton  was 
purchased  by  the  state  for  the  sum  of  $18,000.  In  the  same  act  the  legislature  appro- 
priated $12,000  for  the  constiniction  and  equipment  of  a  dormitory  for  the  use  of  the 
Johnson  Normal  School.  This  appropriation,  practically  the  first  for  such  a  purpose, 
was  made  upon  the  conditions  that  the  state  have  conveyed  to  it  free  from  all  encum- 
brances a  lot  of  land  sufficient  for  the  site  of  the  dormitory,  with  suitable  grounds  in 
connection  therewith;  that  the  trustees  of  Lamoille  County  Grammar  School  lease  to 
the  state  for  a  term  of  ninety  years  the  property  occupied  by  the  normal  school ;  and 
that  the  village  of  Johnson  furnish  the  buildings  connected  with  the  institution  with 
water  and  electricity  free  of  expense  to  the  state.  In  spite  of  these  steps  looking  toward 
the  promotion  of  the  present  normal  schools,  the  state  in  the  same  year  inaugurated 
a  policy  of  state  aid  for  teachers  training-classes  in  the  high  schools, — amove  that 
threatens  the  existence  of  both  normal  schools  as  they  are  constituted  at  present.  These 
various  changes,  many  of  them  divorced  from  educational  considerations,  have  left  the 
normal  schools,  their  function,  and  their  support  in  a  state  of  constant  confusion.  There 
has  been  no  consistent  or  permanent  policy  in  dealing  with  them. 


2.  Sources  of  Information 
Both  of  the  normal  schools  were  visited  by  several  members  of  the  staff,  who  were 
familiar  with  similar  institutions  in  other  states.  Twelve  of  the  fourteen  high  school 
training-classes  were  visited,  a  number  of  them  by  several  members  of  the  staff.  The 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  118 

records  and  literature  concerning  both  groups  of  institutions  were  thoroughly  studied, 
and  there  were  many  conferences  with  educators  and  other  citizens  concerning  them. 


3.  The  Existing  Situation 
(a)  Normal  Schools 

The  state  now  maintains  and  practically  owns  two  normal  schools,  one  at  Castle- 
ton  and  one  at  Johnson. 

The  Castleton  buildings  are  located  near  the  centre  of  the  village  of  Castleton, 
a  short  distance  south  of  the  main  street  and  about  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
Castleton  River.  They  are  surrounded  by  about  seven  acres  of  land;  the  two  and  one- 
half  acres  in  front  of  the  buildings  having  been  parked.  The  buildings  themselves 
consist  of  a  three  story  brick  structure,  one  hundred  feet  long  and  forty  feet  wide,  to- 
gether with  a  wooden  annex  about  sixty  feet  long  and  fifty  feet  wide.  One-half  of  the 
first  floor  of  the  main  building  and  all  of  the  annex  are  used  by  the  school  for  reci- 
tation rooms,  library,  and  office.  The  rest  of  the  main  building  is  used  as  a  dormitory 
for  pupils  and  teachers.  As  a  whole,  the  buildings  at  Castleton  are  poorly  arranged 
and  indifferently  equipped  for  the  pui*poses  of  the  school.  In  spite  of  recent  renovation 
and  improvements,  they  are  considerably  out  of  repair.  They  are  heated  by  stoves, 
which  are  in  themselves  a  constant  menace  to  the  lives  of  the  pupils.  The  last  legis- 
lature authorized  the  state  board  of  education,  with  the  approval  of  the  goveraor,  to 
provide  for  the  furnishing  and  installation  of  a  steam  heating  plant  for  the  buildings, 
and  appropriated  $7000  for  this  purpose.  The  sum  of  $3000  was  also  appropriated  for 
furniture  and  repairs  for  the  dormitory.  There  is  serious  doubt  as  to  the  desirability 
of  expending  any  more  money  on  these  buildings.  If  this  location  is  to  be  used  for 
the  purposes  of  any  state  educational  institution,  it  would  be  cheaper  in  the  end  to 
build  entirely  new  buildings.  By  agreement  with  the  town  school  officers  the  Castleton 
public  school,  located  within  a  ready  walking  distance  of  the  normal  school,  is  used 
as  a  training-school.  One  of  the  rural  schools  of  the  town  is  also  utilized  for  this 
purpose. 

The  buildings  at  Johnson  consist  of  a  two  story  frame  structure,  used  for  instruc- 
tion under  a  long  term  lease  from  the  trustees  of  the  old  Lamoille  County  Gram- 
mar School,  and  a  dormitory,^  distant  about  half  a  mile  and  adjacent  to  the  vil- 
lage public  school,  which  is  used  as  a  practice-school.  Without  exception  the  housing, 
equipment,  and  general  material  arrangements  at  Johnson  are  superior  to  those  at 
Castleton. 

Whatever  the  future  disposition  of  the  schools  may  be,  their  recent  purchase  by 
the  state  has  very  completely  and  properly  liquidated  any  obligation  that  the  state 
may  have  had  toward  them.  The  state  is  now  entirely  free  to  act  in  accordance  with 
its  best  interests. 

*  Constructed  by  the  state  in  accordance  with  the  legislation  of  1910. 


114  EDUCATIOxN  IN  VERMONT 

The  organization  of  the  course  of  study  in  the  normal  schools  has  passed  through  three 
well-defined  stages.  The  original  plan  contemplated  a  "lower  course,"  to  include  aU 
"  the  branches  required  by  law  to  be  taught  in  the  common  schools  of  Vermont," 
and  a  "  higher  course,"  to  contain,  in  addition,  "  higher  branches,""'  and  to  require 
"one  full  year  of  study." ^  These  courses  gradually  crystallized  into  a  lower  coui'se 
of  two  years  open  to  pupils  fresh  from  the  elementary  school,  and  a  higher  coiu'se, 
also  of  two  years,  for  such  as  had  taken  the  lower  course  ;  the  two  courses  thus  corre- 
sponding with  the  two  halves  of  a  four-year  high  school  course.  Such  was  the  arrange- 
ment until  1909,  when  the  higher  course  had  its  standard  raised  by  two  years  and  was 
reserved  for  high  school  graduates.  To  effect  the  transition  to  a  single-standard 
school  similar  to  those  of  neighboring  states,  the  lower  course  was  at  the  same  time 
lengthened  to  four  years,  and  was  later  (1910)  abolished.  For  thi'ee  years  thereafter 
Vermont  normal  schools  offered,  in  addition  to  remnants  of  the  old  regime,  work  of 
strictly  professional  grade.  Moved,  however,  by  the  prospect  of  diminishing  attend- 
ance, the  present  board  of  education  restored  the  lower  course  after  July,  1913, 
making  it  two  years  in  length  and  dependent  upon  (a)  the  completion  of  two  years 
of  work  in  any  classified  academy  or  high  school  in  Vermont,  or  of  an  equal  amount 
in  classified  secondary  schools  of  any  other  state ;  or  (b)  the  possession  of  any  Ver- 
mont teacher's  certificate  except  a  permit  or  a  limited  third  grade  certificate. 

This  action  of  the  state  board  of  education  provided  that  pupils  satisfactorily 
completing  the  requirements  of  the  lower  course  be  granted  an  appropriate  diploma 
and  a  five-year  certificate;  that  graduates  of  high  schools  or  academies  of  the  " first" ^ 
class  be  admitted  to  the  lower  course,  and  upon  completion  of  one  year's  work  be 
granted  similar  credentials ;  and  that  pupils  completing  the  lower  course  of  two  years 
be  admitted  to  the  higher  course  and  its  privileges  of  graduation  and  certifica- 
tion. The  dual  course  is  therefore  again  in  operation :  the  higher,  open  to  graduates  of 
a  four-year  high  school  course  and  leading  to  a  diploma  and  a  certificate  to  teach 
valid  for  ten  years,  and  the  lower  as  stated  above. 

The  attendance  and  number  of  graduates  from  each  of  the  normal  schools  for  the 
ten  years  1903-12  is  summarized  below: 

Average  Number  of  Graduates  Annually  frovi  Vermont  Normal  Schools^ 


Lower  Course 

Higher  Course 

Regraduates 
Special 

Castleton 

36  (10) 

3(10) 

4(8) 

Johnson 

22  (6) 

3(6) 

2(8) 

Randolph 

29(6) 

2(6) 

1(6) 

Together 

87 

8* 

7 

*  Acts  of  1866,  No.  1.  '  For  explanation  of  this  term,  see  page  67. 

^  As  complete  reports  are  not  available,  the  number  of  years  on  which  the  average  is  based  is  given  in  parentheses. 

*  In  1911  and  1912  the  "higher  course"  graduates  were  from  the  new  two-year  course  for  high  school  graduates,  and 
numbered  11  and  7  at  Castleton,  8  and  7  at  Johnson,  and  4  at  Randolph — 37  in  all. 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  115 

(b)  Training-classes  in  High  Schools 

The  school  board  of  a  town  maintaining  a  high  school  of  the  first  class,  and  the 
board  of  trustees  of  an  academy  of  the  first  class,  may  establish  and  maintain  a 
teacher-training  class  in  connection  with  such  high  school  or  academy.^  This  class  is 
under  the  direction  and  approval  of  the  state  board  of  education,  which  prescribes 
the  studies  to  be  pursued  and  appoints  the  special  teachers  employed.  In  the  estab- 
lishment of  such  classes  the  law  provides  that  preference  shall  be  given  to  high  schools 
and  academies  that  can  best  serve  the  rural  schools.  No  approval  may  be  given  to  a 
high  school  or  academy  having  less  than  two  elementary  graded  schools  available  for 
observation  and  practice  purposes. 

For  classes  so  established  the  state  allows  a  maximum  subsidy  of  $800  for  the  teach- 
er's salary,  provided  that  the  local  authorities  have  expended  at  least  $200  for  the 
same  purpose.  If  the  class  numbers  fewer  than  eight  seniors  or  graduates,  the  state 
pays  $100  for  each  regular  member  of  the  class,  and  the  school  must  increase  its 
proportion  to  make  up  the  balance. 

The  facts  concerning  training-classes  from  1912  to  1914  are  summarized  in  the  fol- 
lowing table  :^ 


In  Courses 

1911-12 

1912-13 

1913-14 

Graduates 

43 

48 

65 

Seniors 

106 

91 

133^ 

Total 

149 

139 

198 

Graduated 

141 

139 

Teaching 

In  Graded  Schools 

15 

5 

In  Rural  Schools 

111 

118 

Total 

126 

123 

Not  Teaching 

15 

16 

(c)  Supplementary  Training 
The  superintendent  of  education  reports  twenty-one  educational  meetings  for 
public  school  teachers  conducted  by  his  department  during  the  biennium  1910-12.* 
In  addition  to  these  general  meetings  each  union  superintendent  conducted  several 
meetings  of  the  teachers  of  his  union.  Summer  schools  for  elementary  school  teachers 
were  held  at  Rutland  and  Johnson  in  1911,  and  at  Castleton  and  Johnson  in  1912 
and  1913.  Middlebury  College  and  the  University  of  Vermont  provide  through  their 
summer  sessions  opportunities  for  further  professional  training  for  secondary  school 
teachers.  The  Vermont  Teachers' Association  in  its  annual  sessions  has  for  many  yeai's 
been  a  stimulating  and  unifying  influence  among  teachers  of  all  degrees. 

'  By  the  provisions  of  Act  No.  61,  Acts  of  1910  (as  amended  by  No.  64,  Acts  of  1912). 

^  The  figures  are  furnished  by  the  superintendent  of  education. 

*  Nine  of  these  are  "special"  students.  *  School  Report,  1912,  pasre  53. 


116  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

(d)  The  Certification  of  Teachers 

The  legal  requirements  for  the  certification  of  teachers  and  the  statistics  relating 
to  the  grades  of  certificates  held  by  the  teaching  staff  of  the  state  have  already  been 
presented.^ 

Without  question,  a  distinct  step  in  advance  was  made  in  placing  the  examina- 
tion and  certification  of  all  public  school  teachers  entirely  under  the  direction  of  the 
superintendent  of  education.^  This  change  from  a  county  examiner  system  to  a  state 
system  has  been  widely  x'ecognized  in  recent  years  as  the  most  effective  means  for  rais- 
ing and  unifying  the  worth  of  teachers'  certificates.  As  now  conducted,  a  committee  of 
union  superintendents  prepares  the  examination  questions ;  the  questions  are  printed 
and  distributed  through  the  department  of  education ;  the  union  superintendents  con- 
duct the  examinations  and  forward  to  the  superintendent  of  education  the  papers 
written  by  the  various  applicants  ;  the  papers  are  assigned  to  readers  for  rating,  each 
reader  having  a  single  subject;  the  ratings  are  sent  to  the  office  of  the  superintendent 
of  education,  and  upon  the  averages  obtained  certificates  are  issued.  The  advantages 
of  this  method  over  the  former  county  examiner  method,  as  pointed  out  by  the 
superintendent  of  education,  are  that  (a)  it  is  cheaper;  (&)  it  furnishes  a  single  stand- 
ard of  rating  for  each  subject;  and  (c)  it  fixes  responsibility  and  centres  all  informa- 
tion concerning  certificates  in  one  office. 

It  must  be  recognized  that,  even  though  immediate  steps  be  taken  for  the  improve- 
ment and  extension  of  the  agencies  for  the  production  of  trained  teachers,  the  system 
of  formal  examinations  will  be  for  a  number  of  years  the  chief  instrumentality  for 
determining  minimum  qualifications.  As  a  means  for  the  encouragement  of  higher 
professional  attainments  on  the  part  of  the  untrained  teacher,  the  system  of  examina- 
tion and  certification  is  open  to  the  following  criticisms: 

(1)  The  written  examination  questions  for  the  first,  second,  and  third  grade  certifi- 
cates are  based  too  largely  upon  knowledge  and  information  of  a  purely  formal  sort. 
These  questions  are  not  such  as  would  test  a  candidate's  teaching  knowledge  of  the 
subjects  of  the  program  of  studies  of  the  elementary  schools.  While  this  criticism  will 
apply  more  to  the  questions  in  some  subjects  than  in  others,  it  is  peculiarly  valid 
for  the  recent  questions  in  arithmetic,  English,  history  and  civics,  and  psychology.^  It 
is  frequently  said  that  these  examinations  are  easier  than  the  free  tuition  examinations 
set  for  entrance  to  high  school.  There  is  doubtless  some  connection  between  the  qual- 
ity of  teaching  in  the  elementary  schools  and  the  character  of  the  written  tests  used 
to  determine  the  initial  qualification  of  teachers. 

(2)  The  initial  and  practically  unconditioned  periods  for  which  first  grade  certifi- 
cates, certificates  to  normal  school  graduates,  and  certificates  to  graduates  of  the  high 
school  training  courses  are  granted  are  all  too  long.  All  such  certificates  should  be 

'  See  page  31.  '  By  the  provisions  of  Act  No.  87,  Acts  of  1908. 

'  This  criticism  is  based  upon  the  questions  used  in  the  examination  siven  February  29  and  March  1, 1912,  and 

February  27  and  28,  1918. 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  117 

granted  in  the  form  of  a  probationary  license  valid  for  one  year  only,  subject  to  re- 
newal for  a  second  probationary  year  upon  the  presentation  of  competent  testimony 
as  to  successful  and  meritorious  teaching.  At  the  end  of  a  second  year  of  approved 
probationary  service  the  certificate  might  be  made  valid  for  a  period  not  exceeding 
five  years.  No  certificate  should  be  made  valid  "so  long  as  the  holder  continues  to 
teach  in  the  same  town,"  as  is  now  the  frequent  legal  provision  governing  certificates. 
The  long  life  of  certificates  places  a  premium  on  mediocrity  and  removes  a  stimulus 
to  professional  progress. 


4.  The  Inadequacy  of  the  Normal  Schools 
No  question  affecting  the  educational  system  of  the  state  has  provoked  more  argu- 
ment and  contention  during  the  past  decade  than  that  relating  to  the  normal  schools. 
None  appears  more  difficult  of  satisfactory  and  harmonious  settlement.  For  many  years 
the  staunch  and  active  supporters  of  the  normal  schools  have  vigorously  opposed  the 
frequent  efforts  that  have  been  made  to  disestablish  them  as  institutions  receiving 
public  support.  The  success  of  this  opposition,  notwithstanding  several  distinctly  un- 
favorable reports  by  legislative  commissions,  and  in  spite  of  the  recommendations  of 
the  state  department  of  education  for  the  past  decade,  testifies  to  the  political  influ- 
ence of  the  normal  school  supporters.^  At  the  same  time  an  unbiased  weighing  of  the 
available  impersonal  evidence  bearing  on  the  situation  inclines  one  strongly  to  the 
conclusion  that,  for  the  most  part,  partisan  factors — political,  personal,  and  local — 
rather  than  the  educational  needs  of  the  state  have  largely  determined  the  course  of 
action. 

It  is  of  the  first  importance  objectively  and  accurately  to  analyze  the  real  educa- 
tional situation  of  the  state  in  this  matter  and  to  estimate  its  need.  Nowhere  is  the 
teacher  problem  more  acute.  Of  the  2110  elementary  teachers  who  replied  to  the 
questions  sent  out  by  the  commission,  555,  or  26  per  cent,  were  graduates  of  nor- 
mal schools.  A  few  of  these  (74,  or  13  per  cent)  were  from  standard  schools  outside  the 
state  and  were  teaching  in  cities  or  towns;  others  (199,  or  36  per  cent)  came  from  the 
"higher  course"  in  the  Vermont  normal  schools,  roughly  equivalent  in  amount  to  a 
high  school  course,  or,  in  a  few  cases,  to  a  two-year  graduate  course;^  but  282,  or 
51  per  cent,  were  the  product  of  the  so-called  "  lower  course"  of  the  Vermont  normal 
schools;  that  is,  they  had  had  a  training  equivalent  in  duration  and  maturity  to  the 

*  The  argument  that  the  advocate  for  the  existing  normal  schools  presents  to  the  members  of  the  legislature  is 
simple,  direct,  and  persuasive.  It  runs  something  like  this:  The  city  schools  are  getting  everything  they  want  in 
education  —  long  terms,  good  schoolhouses,  and  paid  teachers.  The  city  children  can  go  to  school  over  good  pave- 
ments, free  of  mud  and  snow.  The  normal  schools  alone  are  left  to  .serve  the  country  teacher  and  the  country  boy: 
they  represent  the  only  effort  the  state  makes  to  equalize  opportunities  as  between  city  and  country.  Are  you  going 
to  give  the  towns  everything  and  the  country  nothing? 

This  is  a  plea  that  has  seldom  failed  in  the  past.  The  answer  to  it  is  contained  in  the  recommendations  offered 
in  this  report,  whicli  propose  to  devote  the  state's  money  to  an  efficient,  rather  than  to  a  deficient,  service  to  the 
country  schools. 

*  In  1911  and  1912  the  three  normal  schools  produced  together  37  of  these.  See  page  114,  note  4. 


118  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

first  two  years  of  high  school,  but  confined  to  subjects  taught  in  the  common  schools. 
This  is  quite  a  different  thing  from  that  which  the  term  "normal  school"  usually 
suggests — a  two-year  professional  course  following  a  four-year  high  school  course. 
One  hundred  and  thirty-four  others,  or  6.4  per  cent  of  the  entire  2110,  had  attended 
noi-mal  schools,  but  had  not  graduated;  101,  or  4.8  per  cent,  had  been  in  training- 
classes.  Over  one-half  (56  per  cent)  of  the  entire  number  had  graduated  from  high 
school,  but  were  without  training  in  teaching.  Aside,  then,  from  the  teachers  trained 
in  schools  elsewhere  or,  since  1911,  in  the  graduate  courses  in  Vermont,  and  a  few  high 
school  graduates  who  have  enjoyed  a  year  in  the  new  training-classes,  Vermont  has, 
in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  no  professionally  trained  elementary  school  teachers. 

Though  desirable,  it  will  be  for  years  altogether  impossible  for  Vermont  to  replace 
all  of  her  rural  teachers  with  graduates  of  standard  normal  schools.  It  would  require 
double  the  salary,  and  even  so,  such  teachers  are  not  to  be  had  at  present  in  sufficient 
numbers  for  such  positions.  It  is  possible,  however,  for  the  state  at  once  and  boldly 
to  enter  upon  a  definite  constructive  policy  that  shall  provide  a  constant  and  ade- 
quate supply  of  trained  teachers,  especially  for  her  rural  schools.  The  degree  of  this 
training  and  the  abundance  of  the  supply  are  purely  economic  questions.  How  far 
is  Vermont  willing  to  go  in  order  to  obtain  a  sufficient  number  of  adequately  trained 
teachers  ? 

The  annual  demand  for  teachers  is,  of  course,  variable.  Service  requiring  slight 
training  and  commanding  low  pay  shifts  rapidly.  A  liberal  interpretation  of  the  re- 
cently gathered  statistics  of  the  elementary  teachers  of  the  state  shows  that  under 
the  existing  conditions  of  lack  of  training  and  excessively  low  salaries,  about  450 
new  teachers  are  needed  each  year  to  replace  those  who  drop  out.  It  is  probable  that 
as  conditions  improve  and  salaries  increase,  this  number  will  become  smaller. 

Where  is  Vermont  to  look  each  year  for  400  new  and  well-trained  teachers  to  con- 
duct her  elementary  schools  in  decent  fashion  ?  It  would  be  a  grievous  blunder  in  an- 
swering this  question  if  mere  political,  personal,  or  local  considerations  were  allowed 
to  influence  the  decision;  the  question  is  far  too  vital  and  means  too  much  to  the 
future  of  the  state  to  admit  of  dealing  with  the  situation  otherwise  than  absolutely 
on  its  merits.  The  solution  of  the  problem  has  hitherto  been  sought  in  two  directions. 
For  nearly  fifty  years  three,  and  more  recently  two,  low-grade  normal  schools  have 
been  merely  reviewing  elementary  school  subjects;  pupils  directly  from  the  elementary 
schools  have  formed  the  great  bulk  of  attendance,  and  during  the  ten  years  1903-12 
the  three  schools  together  averaged  87  graduates  annually  from  this  "lower  course." 
Such  rudimentary  work  is  not  to  be  despised,  but  from  the  present  point  of  view  it 
is  wholly  negligible.  From  their  "  higher  course,"  which  alone  deserves  recognition 
here,  the  three  schools  have  had  during  the  same  ten  years  an  average  combined  an- 
nual output  of  eight,  or,  including  regraduates  and  specials,  fifteen !  What  are  these 
among  400?^ 

'  In  1913  Johnson  and  Castleton  together  graduated  72  teachers:  18  from  their  new  two-year  course  for  high  school 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  119 

5.  The  Success  of  the  Training-classes 

As  a  second  means  of  relieving  the  need,  training-classes  were  established  two  years 
ago.  In  this  time  they  have  put  249  teachers  into  the  field  —  229  of  them  into  rural 
schools.  Of  this  total  nearly  one-third  were  high  school  graduates  with  the  year  in 
the  training-class  as  additional  preparation;  the  remainder  took  the  work  of  the  train- 
ing-class as  their  senior  year  in  high  school.  In  maturity  and  weight  of  personality 
there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  training-class  girls  were  the  equals,  and  in 
the  case  of  the  graduates,  the  superiors,  of  the  graduates  of  the  old  "higher  course" 
in  the  normal  schools ;  in  breadth  of  education  they  were  certainly  ahead ;  in  purely 
pedagogical  training  they  were  perhaps  behind.  There  is  theoretical  advantage  in  the 
normal  school  in  this  latter  respect:  the  wide  variety  of  special  subjects,  such  as  music, 
drawing,  nature  study,  and  so  on,  can  be  dealt  with  more  intensively  and  effectively 
by  departmental  instructors  than  by  a  single  teacher  in  a  training-class.  At  the  same 
time,  considering  their  natural  limitations  and  their  recent  organization,  there  can 
be  only  praise  for  the  training-classes.  The  teachers  in  most  cases  are  admirable;  the 
members  of  the  classes  seem  well  selected  and,  with  rare  exceptions,  efficient;  the 
intelligent  enthusiasm  of  the  girls  is  everywhere  marked.  On  the  whole,  the  state 
certainly  did  vastly  better  for  its  purpose  with  its  investment  of  $8600  in  the  126 
training-class  graduates  in  1912,  than  in  the  $20,000  that  it  put  into  the  14  "higher 
course"  and  28  "lower  course"  graduates  from  the  normal  schools  during  the  same 
year.  For  the  purposes  of  Vermont  in  its  rural  schools  the  former  were  probably  quite 
as  effective  teachers. 

It  seems  clear,  therefore,  as  far  as  actual  past  performance  can  be  trusted  as  a 
guide,  that  in  supplying  trained  teachers,  the  state  will  make  far  greater  headway 
with  the  training-classes  than  by  depending  on  the  normal  schools.  Much  has  been 
affirmed  as  to  what  the  normal  schools  might  do,  w^ere  they  encouraged  and  supported ; 
especially  if  teachers'  salaries  were  increased.  A  change  in  the  last  respect  would 
undoubtedly  bring  betterment.  The  fact  remains,  however,  that  in  their  best  days  the 
normal  schools  have  never  been  able  to  make  their  "higher  course"  effective  in  num- 
bers. They  have  served  chiefly  as  local  institutions,^  and  even  so  have  not  successfully 
risen  above  an  inferior  grade. 

graduates.  30  from  the  new  "lower  course"  (equivalent  to  a  four-year  high  school  course),  and  24  from  courses  still 
lower  and  now  discontinued  by  law.  Of  these  practically  all  of  the  higher  course  graduates  are  teaching  in  graded 
schools;  49  of  the  64  others  are  in  rural  schools. 

The  attendance  in  1913-14  is  especially  suggestive.  Castleton  has  61,  of  whom  48  are  high  school  graduates.  From 
these  will  be  graduated  in  1914  a  class  of  38.  of  whom  7  only  are  in  the  higher,  two-year  course,  the  remainder  being 
from  the  one-year  lower  cour.se  for  high  .school  graduates  which  competes  directly  with  the  training-classes.  John- 
son has  65  students  and  will  graduate  from  its  higher  or  two-year  course,  8:  from  its  two-year  lower  course.  4;  and 
from  its  one-year  lower  course  for  high  school  graduates,  30.  Both  schools,  therefore,  are  at  present  essentially  large 
one-year  training-classes,  operating  at  heavy  expense. 

^Not  including  the  regraduates  and  the  graduates  from  the  higher  course,  66  per  cent  of  the  graduates  from  the 
Castleton  Normal  School  during  the  past  twenty  years  were  residents  of  Rutland  County,  44  per  cent  were  resi- 
dents of  Castleton  and  contiguous  towns ;  18  per  cent  were  residents'  of  Castleton  ;  42  per  cent  of  the  graduates  of 
the  Randolph  Normal  School  were  residents  of  Orange  County,  nearly  half  of  whom  were  residents  of  the  town  of 


120  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Under  precisely  the  same  conditions  the  training-classes  have  been  notably  success- 
ful. The  strength  of  the  training-class  lies  in  its  purely  local  application.  This  is  clearly 
the  explanation  of  its  success  in  contrast  to  the  normal  schools ;  as  it  is  the  explana- 
tion of  what  success  the  normal  schools  themselves  have  had.  It  seems  a  logical  in- 
ference that  the  rural  school  must  expect  to  draw  its  teachers  from  local  territory; 
that  a  school  giving  high-grade  training  for  this  purpose  can  never  be  large  and  eco- 
nomically conducted.  The  girl  whose  teaching  ambitions  take  her  from  home  to 
school  in  another  part  of  the  state  is  aiming  higher  than  at  a  rural  school  position. 
Many  a  girl,  on  the  other  hand,  will  take  a  teachers  course  in  a  local  high  school  and 
accept  a  position  in  the  familiar  country  about  her  home.  Vermont  has  tried  in  vain  for 
fifty  years  to  bring  pupils  to  her  training-schools;  when  she  takes  the  training-schools 
to  the  pupils  there  is  response  at  once. 

Another  apparently  insuperable  obstacle  to  the  success  of  the  present  normal 
schools  as  training-schools  for  rural  teachers  is  the  obvious  lack  of  suitable  practice 
facilities  in  the  villages  where  the  schools  are  located.  To  be  rated  successful  for  Ver- 
mont's purpose,  these  schools  must  each  turn  out  150  graduates  annually, — a  num- 
ber that  would  utterly  swamp  the  little  practice-classes  that  the  village  schools  can 
provide.  The  training-class  has  here  again  a  great  advantage:  its  fifteen  or  twenty 
girls  can  be  readily  accommodated  in  the  neighboring  schools ;  they  work  there  under 
more  typical  conditions  than  prevail  in  the  somewhat  artificial  practice  schools;  and 
their  influence  and  that  of  their  critic-teachers  is  in  turn  spread  over  the  entire  state. 

Moreover,  the  training-classes  have  untried  possibilities.  Newly  organized,  they  have 
not  yet  learned  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  opportunities  for  correlation  with  other 
school  activities.  Their  work  should  be  extended  over  two  years  and  moulded  into 
a  richer  vocational  course  utilizing  all  the  appropriate  facilities  that  the  schools  with 
which  they  are  connected  possess.  In  case  the  plan  of  high  school  centralization  ^  is 
adopted  and  the  state  undertakes  to  develop  15  or  18  strong  "regional "  schools  with 
full  equipment,  first-class  teachers,  and  a  widely  varied  curriculum,  the  teachers  course 
will  find  the  conditions  nearly  ideal.  Apparatus  and  able  instruction  will  be  at  hand 
in  all  special  subjects  for  fitting  the  needs  of  these  classes.  The  teachers  in  charge 
should  be  the  best  obtainable,  and  should  be  made  permanent,  with  whatever  assist- 
ance may  be  necessary.  W^ith  wise  development  the  state  will  shortly  find  itself  in 
possession  of  15  or  18  small  but  highly  efficient  training-schools,  each  the  centre  for 
the  elementary  school  interests  of  its  own  limited  district,  and  each  cooperating  with 
other  local  agencies  to  unify  and  improve  the  educational  conditions  in  that  single  unit. 

One  of  the  most  commendable  features  of  the  training-classes  is  the  ready  and  famil- 
iar resort  which  they  furnish  for  their  graduates  in  the  rural  schools  near  by  when 
aid  and  advice  are  needed.  It  would  indeed  be  an  excellent  plan  to  give  the  training- 
Randolph;  28  per  cent  of  the  graduates  of  the  Johnson  Normal  School  were  residentsof  Lamoille  County,  more  than 
half  of  whom  were  residents  of  Johnson.  Vermont  School  Report,  1910,  page  16. 
*  See  page  109. 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  121 

class  teacher  supervisory  powers  over  certain  phases  of  the  elementary  teaching  in 
her  district  and  thus  still  further  focus  her  influence. 

To  make  these  training-classes  })ennanently  and  adequately  successful,  one  funda- 
mental reform  is  indispensable,  and  a  second  is  highly  desirable.  Rural  teachers  must 
be  paid  higher  salaries.  For  $7,  $8,  and  $9  a  week  there  must  be  a  prospect  of  $10, 
$11,  and  $12.  If  this  is  done,  the  classes  will  fill  up  with  good  material;  if  not,  they 
must  struggle  for  existence.  This  is  an  economic  problem,  pure  and  simple.  More 
money  to  the  school  teacher  was  once  a  matter  of  benevolent  altruism — a  charity; 
to-day  it  is  a  cold  business  necessity,  the  lack  of  which  is  reacting  disastrously  on  the 
best  resources  of  the  community  —  the  children.  In  the  second  place,  as  urged  else- 
where in  this  report,  the  elementary  school  teachers  should  work  under  conditions 
controlled  by  the  state.  They  are  already  prepared  by  state-chosen  teachers  in  state- 
supported  i?raining-schools,  and  are  subject  to  the  state  for  licenses  to  teach;  the 
amount  of  their  salaries  and  the  manner  of  payment  should  be  prescribed  and  guar- 
anteed by  the  state,  and  they  should  be  subject  to  state  inspection  and  criticism. 
Such  a  step  would  involve  no  radical  changes,  but  would  give  the  central  educational 
authority  greatly  increased  influence  over  backward  and  indifferent  communities,  at 
the  same  time  dignifying  and  strengthening  the  present  somewhat  uncertain  position 
of  the  teacher.  With  these  two  important  modifications  made,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  training-classes  would  thrive  to  the  limit  of  their  capacity.  Six- 
teen classes  turning  out  annually  an  average  of  20  graduates  each  would  provide  320 
teachers  —  ample  for  the  rural  school  demand;  the  remainder,  high  grade  normal 
graduates  for  city  schools,  may  be  made  up  otherwise. 


6.  A  Central  Training-school 
The  teacher  problem  in  Vermont  is  so  predominantly  a  iniral  teacher  problem  that 
other  phases  of  it  sink  into  insignificance  in  comparison.  There  are,  however,  im- 
portant reasons  for  believing  that  the  state  cannot  permanently  confine  its  provi- 
sions for  training  wholly  to  the  country  school  teacher.  It  will  be  well,  before  pro- 
ceeding, to  consider  briefly  the  nature  of  teacher  training  in  general.  There  has  been 
much  obscurity  on  this  point.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  term  "normal  school"  has 
been  used  as  a  shibboleth  to  divide  friends  from  foes  without  a  clear  idea  of  what 
such  an  institution  really  is.  Usage  is  at  present  fairly  consistent  in  applying  the 
terms  "elementary  school,"  "secondary  school,"  and  "college"  to  institutions  deal- 
ing progressively  with  certain  fixed  stages  in  a  youth's  development;  these  concep- 
tions are  necessarily  fairly  stable.  A  teachers  training-school  has  no  such  determin- 
ing element  about  it.  Its  standards  are  fixed  almost  wholly  by  the  local  social  and 
economic  conditions.  There  is  no  inherent  reason  why  the  kindergarten  or  the  first 
grade  should  not  be  taught  by  university  graduates  or  doctors  of  philosophy.  Soci- 
ety simply  does  not  yet  think  it  necessary  to  buy  such  expensive  training  for  that 


122  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

purpose.  The  standard  of  all  so-called  "normal  schools'"  or  "teacher  training-schools" 
merely  reflects  the  current  opinion  that  the  community  has  of  the  teachers  func- 
tion,— the  price  it  is  willing  to  pay  for  training  for  a  certain  purpose.  Vermont  has 
paid  small  "wages,"  and  has  received  an  exceedingly  low  grade  of  training  or  none 
at  all.  In  the  product  of  the  training-classes  she  is  now  in  a  fair  way  to  introduce 
a  very  much  better  grade  of  preparation  among  her  rural  teachers.  The  question 
remains:  Is  there  a  still  higher  grade  that  she  should  and  will  provide  for  certain 
special  purposes.?  It  is  important  that  the  problem  be  thus  clearly  divided  instead 
of  allowing  several  conflicting  purposes  to  be  concealed  under  one  vague  name — 
normal  school. 

In  spite  of  the  varied  and  confusing  forms  that  the  training  of  teachers  assumes 
in  America,^  there  is  a  certain  dominant  standard  that  represents  for  the  time  being 
the  best  of  which  the  leading  communities  are  financially  capable.  For  elementary 
teachers  this  at  present  presupposes  an  organization  offering  at  least  two  years  of 
professional  education  following  a  complete  four-year  course  in  a  high  school.  The 
instructors  should  have  had  both  collegiate  and  professional  training  plus  actual 
experience  in  teaching  the  ages  for  which  they  are  now  preparing  teachers.  The  work 
that  such  a  school  aims  to  accomplish  may  be  considered  as  three-fold :  (a)  to  place 
a  candidate  in  wholly  confident  possession  of  the  facts  in  the  various  fields  in  which 
she  is  to  be  asked  to  teach ;  (6)  to  explain  as  fully  as  possible  the  child  mind  and 
nature  with  which  the  teacher  will  have  to  deal,  and  to  show  what  experience  has 
found  to  be  the  most  effective  procedures  in  his  education ;  (c)  to  ensure  under 
expert  direction  and  criticism  an  actual  experience  as  varied  and  comprehensive  as 
possible,  in  recognizing  and  solving  the  educational  problems  that  children  present, 
both  as  individuals  and  in  classes.  Considerable  laboratory  work  of  this  sort  is  indis- 
pensable, and  its  significance  is  being  more  and  more  recognized  as  the  impotence  of 
purely  theoretical  training  is  revealed.  These  three  kinds  of  work  have  to  do  almost 
exclusively  with  professional  technique,  and  crowded  as  they  are  into  two  years,  leave 
little  time  for  genuine  cultural  activity — subjects  that  clarify  and  focus  one's  aims, 
add  new  interests,  and  in  general  go  to  swell  the  teacher's  personal  equipment.  Just 
here  has  been  the  weakness  of  the  normal  school  hitherto,  and  new  standards  are 
slowly  being  set.  There  is  a  tendency  to  increase  the  academic  work  and  plan  the 
course  in  four  years  instead  of  two.  Some  elementary  systems  are  already  employing 
college  graduates  who  have  had  normal  training  in  addition.  Meanwhile  among 
secondary  teachers  one  or  two  years  of  graduate  work  in  education  are  coming  to  dis- 
tinguish the  fit  from  the  unfit.  Each  additional  year  spent  in  preparation  involves  an 

^The  curricula  of  thirty-six  representative  normal  schools  in  thirty  states  vary  from  one  to  six  years  in  length; 
they  require  for  entrance  from  nothing  to  a  high  school  diploma;  no  one  subject  is  required  by  all ;  eight  have  no 
practice-teaching,  nine  no  work  in  methods.  Some  schools  train  only  elementary  teachers,  others  profess  to  train 
all  grades  from  kindergarten  to  college;  some  have  one  teacher  to  83  students,  others  have  one  to  8;  some  gradu- 
ate one-third  of  their  students,  others  one-forty-fourth.  The  size  of  normal  schools  varies  from  less  than  100  to 
more  than  3000  students. 


TRAINING  OF  TEACHERS  123 

additional  expense  both  for  the  training  and  the  subsequent  salary  of  its  beneficiary. 
As  already  pointed  out,  the  fundamental  questions  are:  How  far  does  a  given  commu- 
nity think  trained  teachers  necessary  for  its  children  ?  and  For  what  amount  of  train- 
ing is  it  willing  to  pay  ? 

In  Vermont  it  would,  of  course,  be  quite  possible  to  continue  as  heretofore  and  allow 
the  better  positions  in  the  state  to  be  filled  by  a  process  of  natural  selection  from 
merit  in  the  lower  grades  or  from  material  attracted  from  abroad.  But  the  recom- 
mendations of  this  enquiry  at  another  point  create  a  situation  that  should  by  all 
means  be  taken  into  consideration.  It  is  believed  advisable  that  the  smaller  high  schools 
should  abandon  their  effort  to  offer  a  regular  four-year  course,  and  instead  combine 
with  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  to  form  "junior"  high  schools,  which  shall  reor- 
ganize their  work  along  somewhat  new  and  different  lines.  If  this  plan  is  carried  out, 
there  will  be  at  once  77  of  these  schools,  and  more  will  readily  be  formed;  from  300  to 
500  teachers  will  be  needed — possibly  from  50  to  75  each  year.  It  is  particularly 
important  that  the  teachers  in  these  schools  should  have  an  appropriate  training. 
The  problems  of  the  rural  community  must  be  especially  intelligible  and  attractive 
to  them.  For  this  purpose  it  is  generally  agreed  that  the  untrained  college  graduate 
would  be  markedly  inferior  to  teachers  trained  in  a  thoroughly  high  grade  school 
organized  and  conducted  with  this  purpose  expressly  in  view;  a  "normal  school," if 
one  wishes  to  retain  the  name,  —  one  requiring  at  least  two  and  preferably  three  years 
in  addition  to  a  four-year  high  school  course,  and  planned  not  to  imitate  the  normal 
schools  of  other  states,  but  to  show  teachers  how  to  deal  successfully  with  Vermont 
problems.  Such  a  school  could  provide  at  the  same  time  for  the  better  grade  positions 
in  cities  and  towns.  The  nature  of  its  work  would  cause  it  to  assume  at  once  the  leader- 
ship of  the  various  training-classes  in  the  state,  and  to  operate  in  close  affiliation  with 
them.  Its  location  would  involve  various  factors.  It  should  be  central  and  accessible; 
it  should  be  independent  of  other  educational  institutions;  it  should  have  a  good 
library  and  ample  practice  facilities.  Such  details,  however,  are  for  the  new  state  board, 
recommended  elsewhere,  to  consider  and  determine. 


7.  Recommendations 
It  is  recommended,  therefore,  that  the  state  discontinue  at  once,  as  normal  schools, 
the  two  institutions  now  being  conducted  at  Johnson  and  Castleton,  and  that  all 
available  funds  and  energy  be  devoted  to  developing  and  improving  the  training- 
classes  and  to  providing  better  salaries  for  elementary  teachers.  It  is  further  recom- 
mended that,  as  soon  as  this  primary  undertaking  has  been  placed  upon  a  thoroughly 
sound  basis,  the  educational  authorities  take  under  consideration  the  establishment 
of  a  new  central  training-school  to  serve  the  needs  of  the  state  in  providing  teachers 
for  its  junior  high  schools  and  for  positions  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  elementary 
schools. 


124  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  question  of  the  training  of  teachers  for  the  upper  years  of  central  high  schools 
has  been  touched  upon  in  two  other  sections  of  the  report.^  Although  in  itself  a  ques- 
tion of  fundamental  importance,  it  does  not  possess  for  Vermont  the  urgent  character 
of  the  problems  discussed  above.  The  large  majority  of  the  secondary  teachers  in  the 
state  have  received  their  training  in  the  colleges  of  Vermont  or  of  neighboring 
states,  and  it  is  apparent  that  these  and  similar  institutions  can  meet  the  need  quite 
adequately  provided  they  improve  their  facilities  for  observation  and  practice-teach- 
ing, an  improvement  that  can  be  hastened  by  the  state's  progressive  insistence  upon 
better  qualifications  for  its  certificates. 


*  See  Section  IV,  pages  71  to  80,  and  Section  XH. 


VI 
VOCATIONAL  SCHOOLS 

This  section  discusses  (1)  the  general  problem  of  vocational  education,  (2)  the  exist- 
ing situation  in  Vermont,  and  (3)  its  special  trade  schools;  and  presents  (4)  a  con- 
structive program. 

The  two  special  schools  in  Vermont  were  visited  by  several  members  of  the  enquiry 
staff,  and  the  general  study  and  the  particular  recommendations  are  based  upon  a 
familiarity  with  what  is  being  planned  and  done  for  vocational  education  in  this  and 
other  countries. 

1.  The  Problem  of  Vocational  Education 
While  the  entire  system  of  schools  in  the  United  States  is  feeling  the  pressure  of 
our  changing  social  and  economic  conditions,  there  is  perhaps  no  field  of  education 
in  which  more  confusion  exists  than  in  that  relating  to  vocational  training,  designated 
indiscriminately  as  industrial  education  or  vocational  or  trade  training.  Within  the 
last  ten  years  schools  for  trade  instruction  have  been  inaugurated  in  many  states  in 
the  Union  either  as  a  part  of  the  public  school  system  or  related  to  it,  but  it  is  still 
true  that  the  success  of  such  schools,  their  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  their  com- 
munities, and  the  relation  which  they  ought  to  bear  to  the  public  school  system  are 
far  from  being  completely  worked  out. 

In  inaugurating  a  school  system  as  an  agency  of  civilization,  the  modem  demo- 
cratic state  has  in  view  two  distinct  objects :  first,  to  develop  the  mind  and  the  spirit 
of  the  youth,  to  teach  him  self-control,  and  thus  to  fit  him  for  citizenship.  This  is  what 
is  generally  understood  as  education.  Secondly,  it  is  the  purpose  of  such  a  state  to 
fit  each  child  to  become  an  effective  economic  unit  in  the  state's  life.  This  is  voca- 
tional education.  The  state  must  have  both  ends  in  view  and  must  aim  to  serve  them 
both,  but  it  must  also  be  careful  not  to  confuse  them.  It  is  not  possible  to  turn  the  ele- 
mentary and  secondary  school  into  mere  training-places  for  the  vocations.  To  do  this  is 
to  abandon  the  chief  purpose  for  which  these  schools  exist.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
hopeless  to  expect  that  a  boy  or  a  girl  will  look  toward  the  vocational  school  so  long 
as  it  is  wholly  unrelated  to  and  separated  from  the  common  school  system.  In  other 
words,  the  vocational  school  must  have  its  roots  and  growth  in  a  common  school  sys- 
tem which,  while  its  main  purpose  is  to  educate,  still  educates  its  pupils  into  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  economic  conditions  and  problems  of  their  own  countryside.  The  ele- 
mentary school  must  develop  the  sympathy  of  the  child  for  the  community  in  which 
he  lives,  if  it  hopes  to  guide  him  successfully  to  a  vocational  school  which  shall  prepare 
him  for  a  useful  life  in  that  community.  To-day  the  elementary  school  guides  him 
away  from  any  such  vocational  ideal.  It  does  not  interest  its  pupils  in  the  trades  that 
they  see  about  them,  and  a  school  intended  to  train  for  such  trades  has  no  connection 


126  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

with  the  common  school  system.  There  is  no  door  by  which  the  boy  passes  easily  from 
the  one  to  the  other.  It  is  a  part  of  the  difficult  problem  of  every  modern  state  both 
to  educate  for  life  and  to  train  for  economic  productiveness,  to  develop  both  the 
general  system  of  schools  for  citizenship  and  a  series  of  special  schools  or  courses  for 
vocations;  to  have  each  system  of  schools  sympathetic  and  helpful  to  one  another  and 
yet  not  to  confuse  the  two  purposes. 

Several  features  of  our  American  life  have  tended  to  obscure  this  relation  between 
education  and  training,  and  have  tended  also  to  make  the  relation  of  the  elementary 
schools  to  the  trade  schools  more  difficult. 

One  of  these  difficulties  lies  in  the  great  emphasis  that  has  been  placed  in  Amer- 
ica upon  preparation  for  the  professions, —  particularly  for  the  professions  of  law, 
medicine,  and  engineering.  For  these  quasi-public  callings  there  is  needed  not  only 
a  long  preliminary  education,  but  a  sound  course  of  theoretical  training.  The  prepa- 
ration for  a  trade  demands,  on  the  other  hand,  a  shorter  preliminary  education,  with 
a  technical  training  to  give  skill  in  that  trade. 

In  the  United  States,  as  in  all  other  countries,  the  world  lives  on  the  trades,  not  on 
the  professions.  For  what  we  eat,  for  what  we  wear,  for  that  with  which  we  are  clothed 
and  warmed,  we  depend  day  by  day  on  the  skill  and  efficiency  of  those  who  go  into 
the  trades.  Society  needs  hundreds  of  skilled  men  in  the  trades  where  it  needs  one 
lawyer  or  physician  or  engineer.  Nevertheless,  on  account  of  the  prominence  of  these 
great  professions,  it  has  hitherto  been  easy,  in  the  United  States,  to  obtain  state 
appropriations  for  the  education  that  prepares  for  the  professions,  and  difficult  to 
get  support  for  schools  that  aim  to  train  men  for  the  farm,  for  the  dairy,  for  the  car- 
penter's bench,  or  for  the  mechanic's  lathe. 

This  hesitation  arises  not  alone  out  of  the  relative  prominence  of  the  great  profes- 
sions; it  is  due  in  great  measure  to  the  economic  transition  through  which  we  are 
passing.  Only  very  recently  in  America  and  in  England  has  the  school  been  looked  to 
for  the  training  of  men  for  the  trades.  Apprenticeship  was  the  door  through  which  the 
boy  formerly  went  into  trade.  Until  recently  the  girl  did  not  go  into  the  skilled  trades 
at  all,  but  to-day  the  problem  of  trade  education  is  just  as  important  for  the  girl  as 
it  is  for  the  boy.  Furthermore,  the  apprenticeship  method  of  training  for  the  trades 
has  broken  down.  The  school  is  practically  the  only  agency  that  society  offers  for  the 
formal  preparation  of  its  youth  for  those  fundamental  and  necessary  vocations  upon 
which  society  must  always  live.  For  this  reason,  therefore,  the  necessity  for  the  trade 
school  and  for  its  right  articulation  with  the  public  school  system  has  become  in 
America  in  the  last  twenty  years  a  pressing  economic  as  well  as  a  pressing  educational 
question.  The  trade  schools  in  European  countries,  notably  in  Germany,  have  been 
carried  to  a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  They  are  related  in  a  most  successful  way  to 
the  system  of  common  schools.  The  child  who  is  steering  toward  a  trade — and  the 
gi'eat  majority  of  all  children  travel  in  that  direction — begins  to  differentiate  in  his 
school  course  between  his  tenth  and  his  twelfth  year,  and  finds  open  for  him  a  trade 


VOCATIONAL  SCHOOLS  127 

school  articulated  with  his  elementary  school,  in  which  he  may  get  the  necessary 
grounding  and  skill  for  a  successful  entry  into  his  chosen  vocation. 

The  schools  that  have  been  inaugurated  to  meet  this  need  in  the  United  States  have 
assumed  the  following  forms:  an  industrial  school  intended  to  prepare  the  wage- 
earner  in  the  mechanical  trades  and  industries;  a  trade  school  in  agriculture  planned 
to  train  the  farmer,  the  dairyman,  and  the  horticulturist ;  a  commercial  school  intended 
to  give  training  in  commercial  pursuits  like  bookkeeping,  stenography,  typewriting, 
and  salesmanship;  and  finally  a  training-school  in  the  household  arts  intended  to 
prepare  those  who  are  not  wage-earners  for  occupations  connected  with  the  house- 
hold. 

This  effort  is  not  a  new  one.  Fifty  years  ago,  when  the  schools  of  agriculture  and 
mechanic  arts  were  started,  the  idea  of  education  for  the  trades  was  a  strong  factor  in 
their  inauguration,  but  such  schools  at  that  time,  and  for  many  years  after,  had 
to  meet  not  only  the  lack  of  an  adequate  elementary  school  system  in  which  they 
might  find  root,  but  they  had  to  meet  also  an  almost  overpowering  tendency  to  trans- 
form themselves  into  schools  for  the  professions.  Thus,  the  schools  of  mechanic  arts, 
founded  originally — like  that  at  Worcester — for  the  training  of  mechanics,  devel- 
oped into  schools  of  engineering.  The  agricultural  schools,  instead  of  training  men 
to  become  farmers,  became  training-places  for  scientific  agriculturists,  whose  functions 
lay  in  the  main  either  in  teaching  or  in  work  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  To- 
day the  elementary  school  system  has  developed  to  the  point  at  which  the  trade 
school  may  well  find  congeni^-l  soil  for  its  roots,  if  only  it  can  be  rightly  related 
to  the  elementary  school,  and  if  it  can  be  held  firmly  to  its  legitimate  work, — the 
training  of  youth  for  a  trade  rather  than  their  preparation  for  a  profession.  Let  us 
turn  now  to  a  consideration  of  what  has  been  done  in  Vermont. 


2.  The  Existing  Situation  in  Vermont 

In  the  fortieth  Vermont  School  Report  —  that  of  1908  —  the  superintendent  of 
education  calls  attention  in  an  effective  way  to  the  industries  of  Vermont  and  the 
relation  that  vocational  training  should  have  to  these  industries.  It  goes  without 
saying  that  the  form  of  industrial  school  which  any  state  should  adopt  will  depend 
upon  the  trades  which  that  state  needs  to  foster.  In  this  report  the  superintendent 
brings  out  clearly  that  agriculture  is  the  principal  industry  of  Vermont,  although 
the  state  may  be  described  rather  as  a  state  of  husbandries,  and  that  its  agricultural 
pursuits  must  lie  along  certain  lines  of  specialization,  like  butter  making,  sugar 
making,  poultry  raising,  stock  breeding,  and  timber  growing. 

Next  to  agriculture  the  superintendent  of  education  points  out  manufactures  and 
their  possibilities,  and  next  to  these  forestry  and  the  possibilities  of  timber;  and  he 
recommends  in  this  report  that  the  curriculum  should  be  enlivened  and  madepracti- 


128  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

cal  by  the  addition  of  such  studies  as  would  interest  the  student  in  agriculture, 
manufacture,  and  forestry. 

There  was  issued  also  by  the  superintendent  of  education,  in  1911,  a  manual  of 
agriculture  designed  for  the  guidance  of  teachers.  This,  with  the  introduction  of 
serious  courses  in  manual  training,  domestic  science,  and  agriculture  in  a  very  few 
schools,  constitutes  the  most  of  what  has  been  done  in  the  effort  to  make  the  elemen- 
tary school  and  the  secondary  school  touch  more  directly  the  occupations  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  the  schools  are  situated.  It  also  goes  without  saying  that  the  most 
effective  preliminary  preparation  for  any  vocation  lies  in  accurate  and  fundamental 
grounding  in  the  preparatory  studies  of  the  general  curriculum;  for  example,  the 
knowledge  of  good  English  and  of  elementary  mathematics  are  effective  preliminaries 
to  skill  in  any  vocation. 

There  are  at  present  no  adequate  or  trustworthy  statistics  to  show  the  rate  and 
amount  of  progress  of  pupils  in  the  rural  schools  in  the  courses  of  instruction  that 
look  toward  vocational  opportunities,  but  the  careful  observer  cannot  avoid  the  infer- 
ence that  the  great  bulk  of  the  pupils  who  leave  the  rural  schools  have  done  little  more 
than  to  learn  to  read  indifferently,  to  write  clumsily,  and  to  make  ordinary  calcula- 
tions with  difficulty,  while  they  have  not  been  pointed  in  any  effective  way  toward  any 
skilled  vocation.  Still  less  have  they  found  in  their  school  curriculum  sympathy  with 
these  callings  or  the  preparation  for  skill  in  them.  The  instruction  in  manual  training 
and  domestic  science  that  is  given  in  the  elementary  schools  is  confined  almost  wholly 
to  the  cities,  and  is  a  negligible  influence  so  far  as  the  larger  problem  of  preparation 
for  a  vocation  is  concerned.  The  present  elementary  school  system,  therefore,  lacks  the 
qualities  that  will  either  interest  a  pupil  in  the  trades  or  will  give  him  the  elementary 
grounding  that  furnishes  skill  in  them. 

In  the  secondary  schools  103  pupils  were  reported  as  studying  agriculture  during 
1911-12  in  twelve  approved  high  schools,  and  126  pupils  were  studying  domestic  sci- 
ence in  two  approved  high  schools,  —  Burlington  and  Rutland.  Four  pupils  studied 
agriculture  in  one  approved  academy,  and  nine  pupils  were  receiving  instruction  in 
domestic  science  in  another  approved  academy. 

A  commercial  course  of  study  is  found  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  of  organization 
in  twenty-six  of  the  seventy-four  approved  high  schools,  in  ten  of  the  eighteen  ap- 
proved academies,  and  in  seven  of  the  twenty -five  parochial  schools.  Eight  hundred 
and  ninety -one  pupils — about  one-sixth  of  the  whole  number  in  the  approved  high 
schools  —  were  enrolled  in  commercial  work,  and  two  hundred  and  eighty,  or  about 
one-seventh  of  the  pupils  in  the  approved  academies,  were  enrolled  in  similar  courses. 

In  1908  an  annual  state  aid  of  $250  was  authorized  for  any  high  school  or  gram- 
mar school  whose  course  of  study  included  instruction  in  manual  training  approved 
by  the  superintendent  of  education.  The  total  expenditure  for  this  purpose  was  lim- 
ited to  $5000,  a  sum  sufficient  to  subsidize  twenty  schools  at  the  rate  assumed.  Only 
four  schools  were  receiving  such  aid  in  1911-12.  The  legislature  of  1912  amended 


VOCATIONAL  SCHOOLS  129 

the  act  of  1908  by  providing  for  an  annual  state  aid  of  S200  for  high  school  courses 
in  agriculture,  in  domestic  science,  and  in  manual  training,  but  this  amendment 
did  not  become  effective  until  July  1, 1913.  This  brief  statement  shows  in  sufficient 
detail  what  steps  have  been  taken  on  the  part  of  the  state  to  introduce  into  the  cur- 
riculum studies  that  make  for  vocational  skill.  In  the  main  these  studies — such,  for 
instance,  as  manual  training — serve  to  enrich  the  curriculum  and  to  interest  the 
pupil  of  the  elementary  and  secondary  school  in  vocational  subjects.  They  are  not 
intended  to  transform  the  schools  into  trade  schools. 


3.  Special  Trade  Schools 

In  the  establishment  of  distinct  trade  schools,  also,  Vermont  has  been  conserva- 
tive. Only  one  school  that  may  be  fairly  called  a  distinctive  trade  school  of  the 
elementary  type  is  to-day  in  existence  upon  state  foundation.  This  is  the  Randolph 
State  School  of  Agriculture.  In  1910,  when  the  Randolph  Normal  School  was  discon- 
tinued, there  was  established  in  its  stead  a  state  school  of  agriculture  for  the  purpose 
of  "  developing  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  state  thi'ough  practical  instruction 
in  agriculture,  including  tillage,  crop  raising,  gardening,  orcharding,  forestry,  dairy- 
ing, stock  raising,  farm  management,  marketing,  and  the  allied  subjects  of  domestic 
science  and  the  manual  arts,"  It  will  be  noted  that  the  field  of  this  school  has  been 
made  so  broad  that  it  may  touch  almost  any  trade  that  has  any  connection  with 
agriculture.  The  state  provided  $20,000  for  the  purchase  of  real  estate,  the  erection 
of  buildings,  and  the  provision  of  equipment,  and  an  annual  appropriation  of  $10,000 
has  been  made  for  the  maintenance  of  the  school. 

The  Randolph  State  School  of  Agriculture  began  its  work  in  the  fall  of  1911, 
enrolling  fifty-six  young  men  during  the  year  1911-12.  The  principal  of  the  school 
reported,  March  24, 1913,  eighty-three  students  enrolled  during  the  year  1912-13, 
of  which  number  seventy-two  were  in  attendance.  The  average  age  of  entrance  was 
between  sixteen  and  seventeen.  The  majority  of  the  students  came  from  the  distinc- 
tively rural  communities  of  the  state,  with  the  educational  equipment  furnished  by 
the  rural  schools.  About  half  of  the  pupils  had  one  or  more  years  of  high  school 
work.  During  the  past  year  eleven  of  the  fourteen  counties  were  represented  in  the 
enrolment  of  the  school.  This  school  offers  a  two-year  course  of  instruction  for  pupils 
with  only  a  common  school  preparation,  a  one-year  course  for  high  school  graduates, 
and  a  six  weeks' winter  course  in  dairying  and  general  agriculture.  A  special  elective 
course  of  one  year  is  also  announced.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  desirabihty  of  such 
a  school  as  the  Randolph  School  proposes  to  be.  It  is  well  located,  and  while  not 
fully  equipped  as  yet  for  carrying  on  effectively  its  practical  instruction,  its  promise 
is  large.  It  is  a  vocational  school  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  term.  The  legislature  of 
1912  appropriated  $5000  for  the  special  purposes  of  the  school  and  $25,000  for  the 
construction  of  a  dormitory. 


130  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

A  second  school  of  the  Randolph  type  was  authorized  by  the  legislature  of  1912 
(Act  No.  67),  to  be  located  in  Addison  or  Rutland  County.  The  location  and  estab- 
lishment of  such  school  were  conditioned  upon  the  approval  of  the  governor  and  the 
educational  commission.  An  appropriation  of  $20,000  was  provided  for  construction 
and  also  an  annual  appropriation  of  $10,000  for  maintenance. 

In  1910,  through  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Theodore  N.  Vail,  a  school  of  agriculture 
was  organized  in  connection  with  the  Lyndon  Institute  at  Lyndonville.  While  the 
school  is  separate  from  the  institute,  the  arrangements  are  such  that  the  two  insti- 
tutions cooperate  in  the  use  of  buildings  and  the  employment  of  some  of  the  teachers. 

The  object  of  this  school  of  agriculture  is  to  give  "practical  and  theoretical  in- 
struction to  Vermont  boys  who  have  neither  the  money  nor  inclination  to  pursue 
an  extensive  college  course.  The  agricultural  school  is  strictly  a  farmer's  school,  and 
it  aims  to  educate  students  along  the  various  lines  of  work  that  will  be  met  with  on 
the  farm  and  in  the  home  life.  It  is  not  intended  to  fit  students  for  college,  but  to 
furnish  a  line  of  training  that  will  be  of  immediate  use  in  farming  and  its  allied  in- 
dustries, like  carpentry,  blacksmithing,  masonry,  and  concrete  work,  preparing  the 
students  not  only  to  do  farm  work  intelligently,  but  also  to  do  for  themselves  prac- 
tically all  the  other  work  in  connection  with  the  farm,  such  as  the  repairing  of  build- 
ings from  basement  to  roof  and  the  repairing  of  wagons  and  machinery ;  in  a  general 
way,  making  them  independent  of  any  outside  skilled  labor  and  also  putting  them  in 
a  position  to  assist  their  neighbors  whenever  spare  time  may  permit." 

The  course  covers  a  period  of  two  years  of  nine  months  each.  The  theoretical  work 
is  given  at  the  Lyndon  Institute,  while  the  practical  work  is  done  in  the  shops  and 
on  the  school  farm.  Pupils  who  have  passed  the  state  examinations  for  free  tuition 
in  secondary  schools  are  admitted.  A  few  pupils  are  admitted  who  have  not  had  the 
requisite  amount  of  preparation,  provided  they  satisfy  the  director  of  their  ability 
to  pursue  the  work  with  profit. 

The  annual  expense  of  attendance,  about  $200,  must  be  met  by  all  pupils.  This 
is  done  in  two  ways,  either  by  cash  payments  or  by  work.  Under  the  work  payment 
system  the  school  offers  a  few  scholarships  to  Vermont  boys,  financially  unable  to  pay 
their  way.  These  scholarships  enable  the  holders  to  pay  their  expenses  by  manual 
labor  during  vacation  periods  as  well  as  during  term  time.  Each  pupil  on  the  cash 
payment  system  is  required  to  do  six  hundred  hours  of  farm  work  before  a  certificate 
of  graduation  will  be  given. 

During  1911—12,  fifty  pupils  were  enrolled,  twenty-seven  in  the  second  (Senior) 
year,  all  of  whom  came  from  Vermont,  and  twenty-three  in  the  first  (Freshman)  year, 
five  of  whom  came  from  Massachusetts.  During  1912-13,  seventeen  second  year  pupils 
and  thirty-six  first  year  pupils  were  enrolled,  a  total  of  forty-three,  ten  of  whom 
came  from  other  states. 

For  its  regular  class-room  work  the  school  utilizes  the  building  of  the  Lyndon  In- 
stitute. For  its  own  special  purposes  it  has  a  well-equipped  shop-building,  containing 


VOCATIONAL  SCHOOLS  131 

the  blacksmith  and  carpenter  shops;  adequate  farm  buildings  —  horse  stable,  dairy 
barn,  poultry  house,  root  cellar,  and  so  on ;  work  horses,  herds  of  cattle,  poultry, 
swine;  a  school  farm  consisting  of  over  one  hundred  acres  of  tillage  land  divided 
into  upland  and  lowland.  In  addition  the  practical  resources  of  Mr.  Vail's  "Speedwell 
Farms"  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  school.  The  study  plan  of  the  school  provides  a  care- 
fully worked  out  combination  of  class-room  instruction  and  practical  work,  under  the 
direction  of  a  competent  staff  of  teachers.  In  addition  to  its  usual  teaching  activ- 
ities the  school  has  undertaken  considerable  agricultural  extension  work,  such  as 
orchard  demonstrations,  dairy  testing,  and  farmers'  institutes. 

These  two  schools  are  trade  schools  in  the  true  sense,  and  they  are  seeking  a  rational 
and  safe  relation  to  the  school  system.  They  constitute  to-day  the  only  serious  at- 
tempts in  the  state  of  Vermont  to  deal  with  vocational  training. 


4.  A  Constructive  Program 

The  school  problem  in  Vermont,  as  in  all  other  states,  lies  in  the  question  how 
best  to  utilize  the  time  of  children  from  six  to  eighteen  years  old,  so  that  these  shall 
contribute  in  the  most  direct  way  both  to  citizenship  and  to  economic  efficiency.  The 
state  to-day  compels  the  attendance  in  school  of  normal  children  between  the  ages 
of  eight  and  fifteen  inclusive  for  at  least  twenty-eight  weeks  of  each  year.  Unless, 
however,  the  state  is  able  to  provide  means  by  which  the  time  of  its  children  is  more 
profitably  and  more  economically  used  in  school  than  it  is  at  present,  there  is  no  jus- 
tice either  from  the  standpoint  of  morals,  education,  or  economics  in  its  monopoly 
of  the  years  of  compulsory  school  attendance.  The  present  situation  lends  itself  to 
a  regime  under  which  the  communities  suffer  from  idlers  who  are  idlers  because  they 
have  not  been  taught  to  do  work  that  is  based  upon  the  acquirement  of  skill.  What 
ought  the  state  to  do  in  order  not  only  to  develop  the  intellectual  and  moral  qualities 
of  its  children,  but  also  to  fit  them  to  become  economically  productive  ? 

The  first  step  in  the  answer  to  this  question  has  been  made  in  the  policy  that  has 
been  outlined  for  the  reform  of  the  school  curriculum  in  the  elementary  and  secondary 
school  and  for  the  reorganization  of  the  educational  administration.  No  successful 
system  of  trade  schools  can  be  effected  until  the  general  system  of  public  schools  is 
efficient  and  is  in  sympathy  with  the  economic  problems  of  their  environment.  On 
this  basis,  a  policy  similar  to  that  suggested  for  the  training  of  rural  teachers  would 
appear  to  meet  the  situation  most  quickly  and  completely.  This  would  involve  the 
establishment  of  a  thorough  vocational  course  in  agriculture  in  the  lower  or  junior 
division  of  each  of  the  proposed  central  or  regional  high  schools.  Such  action  would 
provide  15  or  18  stations  for  teaching  the  principles  of  farming  to  boys  from  12  to 
16  years  of  age.  The  sole  purpose  would  be  to  make  successful  farmers.  As  compared 
with  special  schools,  such  a  plan  has  the  advantage  of  economy,  it  will  serve  a  larger 
area,  and  can  be  introduced  as  soon  as  competent  teachers  and  a  modest  equipment 


132  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

can  be  secured.  It  could  not  hope  to  duplicate  the  facilities  that  the  school  at  Randolph 
enjoys,  but  the  great  majority  of  these  central  schools  would  be  so  situated  as  to 
bring  fully  adequate  facilities  for  this  purpose  within  easy  reach.  With  right  en- 
couragement and  advice  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  expect  each  such  community  even- 
tually to  develop  its  own  model  farm.  In  the  two  upper  years  of  the  central  school 
advanced  courses  should  be  provided  for  such  pupils  as  wish  to  become  teachers,  farm 
managers,  or  special  experts,  and  who  will  probably  go  on  to  a  college  of  agriculture. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  a  first-class  instructor  should  be  employed  —  preferably 
a  graduate  of  the  state  agricultural  college.  Under  his  direction  the  department  as 
a  whole  should  become  the  centre  of  agricultural  experiment  and  instruction  for  the 
entire  vicinity;  it  should  maintain  close  relations  with  the  agricultural  college,  and 
serve  as  a  distributing  point  for  its  literature  and  advice.  For  the  requisite  academic 
work  the  courses  in  agriculture  should  cooperate  with  all  other  courses  in  the  inter- 
ests of  economy. 

Following  this  fundamental  step,  the  state  could  then  proceed  to  develop  gradu- 
ally vocational  schools  for  the  training  of  its  youth  in  those  activities  upon  which  the 
economic  welfare  of  Vermont  depends.  To-day  it  is  clear  that  her  greatest  opportunity 
lies  in  the  intensive  development  of  her  agricultural  resources.  The  beginning  of  this 
intensive  development  must  be  made  in  the  rural  schools  through  a  form  of  instruction 
and  a  method  of  organization  that  will  cause  agriculture  and  its  attendant  activities 
to  become  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  state  a  vocational  goal  worth  striving  for. 
Supplemental  to  the  instruction  given  in  the  public  school  systems,  there  will  need 
to  be  developed  a  certain  number  of  schools  of  the  type  existing  in  Randolph  and 
Lyndonville,  but  the  number  of  such  schools,  their  location,  their  relation  to  the  ele- 
mentary school  system,  and  their  development  must  lie  in  the  hands  of  the  educa- 
tional administration  of  Vermont.  This  is  necessary  for  two  reasons.  First  of  all,  the 
adaptation  of  the  vocational  schools  to  our  American  conditions  has  not  yet  been 
thoroughly  worked  out.  One  cannot  transfer  bodily  the  German  trade  school  to 
America.  It  has  taken  generations  to  develop  this  trade  school  in  Germany,  and  it  has 
depended  in  large  measure  for  its  success  upon  the  German  stratification  of  soci- 
ety. The  son  of  the  small  tradesman,  of  the  mechanic,  of  the  railway  employee  in 
Germany  expects  to  remain  in  the  social  plane  in  which  he  has  been  born  The 
whole  arrangement  of  society  steers  him  naturally  and  easily  into  a  trade.  This 
situation  does  not  exist  in  America. 

In  the  second  place  it  must  be  realized  that  experiments  in  trade  schools  are  the 
most  costly  of  educational  experiments,  just  as  their  successful  conduct  is  economi- 
cally the  most  profitable.  The  following  table  from  the  report  of  the  Wisconsin  Com- 
mission upon  plans  for  the  extension  of  industrial  and  agricultural  training  (1911), 
showing  the  expense  of  the  county  schools  of  agriculture  of  that  state,  contains  per- 
tinent evidence  upon  this  point. 


VOCATIONAL  SCHOOLS 


133 


County  Schools  of 

Agriculture  of  Wisconsin.  Financial  Statistics,  1911 

County 

Pupils 
enrolled 

Total  Cost  per 
Pupil 

Cost  to  State 
per  Pupil 

Cost  to  County 
per  Pupil 

93 
40 
49 
157 
78 

$112 
179 
121 

91 
91 

$43 

100 

81 

26 

52 

$69 

79 

40 

65 

39 

These  county  schools  of  agriculture  correspond  in  general  to  the  State  School  of 
Agricultui'e  at  Randolph,  where,  with  an  enrolment  of  83,  the  total  cost  per  pupil 
amounted,  in  1912-13,  to  $147.55. 

In  addition,  such  experience  as  we  have  had  shows  that  the  trade  school,  whether 
agricultural  or  mechanical  or  commercial,  is  in  the  main  a  local  school.  The  necessity 
for  pupils  to  leave  home  to  attend  an  adequate  school  increases  so  enormously  the 
burden  of  family  and  individual  expense  that  such  schools  must  be  easily  accessible. 
While,  therefore,  it  seems  clear  that  the  organization  charged  with  the  administra- 
tion of  the  schools  of  the  state  should  proceed  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  take  up  the 
problem  of  trade  education,  it  should  proceed  with  fair  conservatism. 

It  is  perfectly  clear  that  one  step  in  such  a  development  should  be  some  sort  of 
relation  between  the  State  Agricultural  College  and  the  training-schools  in  agri- 
culture. Here  are  two  distinct  forms  of  institution,  but  it  would  be  undesirable  that 
they  should  be  developed  without  relation  to  each  other  as  they  have  been  hitherto, 
and  one  of  the  problems  of  the  board  of  education  in  its  development  of  agricultural 
trade  schools  must  be  the  establishment  of  a  fruitful  relationship  between  the  State 
Agricultural  College  and  the  trade  schools  of  agriculture. 

While  the  trade  of  agriculture  is  to-day  that  one  whose  development  would  have 
most  significance  for  Vermont,  it  goes  without  saying  that  there  are  other  vocations 
into  which  the  youth  of  the  state  go  and  for  which  they  should  have  opportunity 
for  a  technical  fitting.  The  list  of  the  gainful  occupations  in  Vermont  for  which  voca- 
tional training  might  be  specially  devised  shows  great  diversity,  but  brings  out  the 
fact  that  the  pursuits  of  agriculture  are  those  which  at  this  time  offer  the  widest 
opportunity  for  the  state"'s  action. 

A  wise  program  in  the  formation  of  vocational  schools  would  seem  to  be,  first,  the 
reform  of  the  public  school  system  so  that  the  youth  of  Vermont  may  be  educated 
toward  the  occupations  of  the  communities  in  which  they  live;  secondly,  the  estab- 
lishment at  each  of  the  proposed  regional  high  schools,  in  its  four-year  junior  divi- 
sion, of  a  high  grade  vocational  course  in  agriculture  for  boys  from  12  to  16  years 
of  age,  and  in  its  senior  division  of  advanced  courses  for  older  pupils ;  thirdly,  the 
gradual  formation  under  the  direction  of  the  board  of  education  of  trade  schools  in 
agriculture  rightly  related  both  to  the  public  school  system  and  to  the  Agricultural 
College;  and  finally,  the  investigation  by  the  state  board  of  the  question  of  trade 
courses  or  schools  for  other  vocations. 


VII 
RECORDS  AND  ACCOUNTS 

The  matter  of  records  and  accounts  naturally  came  to  the  attention  of  several  mem- 
bei"s  of  the  enquiry  staff.  A  special  study  was  made  of  the  situation  in  some  twenty 
towns. 

Business  Administration 

The  most  practical  improvement  suggested  by  this  study  of  the  business  admin- 
istration of  the  Vermont  schools  is  that  a  uniform  method  of  accounting  should  be 
adopted  by  the  towns. 

The  blanks  on  which  the  towns  supply  their  data  to  the  state  are  at  present  uni- 
form, but  the  accounting  methods  and  results  are  variable.  Unless  these  methods  and 
results  also  are  uniform,  it  is  not  possible  for  the  state  to  receive  correct  informa- 
tion. 

The  essential  object  of  the  method  of  accounting  should  be  an  exhibition  of  the 
true  revenue  and  expenditure  of  the  schools  of  the  town.  Only  by  adopting  this  method 
can  uniform  results  be  secured.  Instead  of  the  true  revenue  and  expenditure,  most  of 
the  town  reports  contain  merely  a  summary  of  the  actual  receipts  and  payments,  and 
these  reports  of  itemized  expenditures  are  cast  in  such  variable  forms  that  no  two  of 
them  are  alike.  A  report  of  actual  receipts  and  payments  is  inadequate,  because  the 
total  payments  made  by  a  concern  during  a  year  do  not  necessarily  exhibit  the  total 
expenditures,  or  the  total  cash  receipts  do  not  necessarily  exhibit  the  real  income. 
Thus,  if  a  corporation's  income  is  $10,000  for  a  certain  period,  and  during  that  period 
it  lives  on  its  credit  and  does  not  pay  the  charges  accruing,  which  amount  say  to  $9000, 
to  report  that  its  expenditures  were  nil  because  no  bills  were  actually  paid  does  not, 
standing  alone,  convey  a  true  statement  of  the  facts.  If  these  unpaid  bills  of  one  period 
are  paid  during  the  next  period,  this  does  not  make  the  payments,  standing  alone, 
the  true  expenditure  for  the  second  period;  a  deficit  thus  caused  in  the  second  period, 
if  unexplained,  is  misleading.  The  method  suggested  below  enables  the  towns  to  show, 
in  addition  to  their  actual  receipts  and  payments,  their  true  income  and  expenditure 
also.  The  state  will  thus  be  coiTectly  informed. 

The  absence,  in  most  town  reports,  of  statements  giving  the  real  resources  and  lia- 
bilities of  the  schools  has  produced  a  divergence  of  practice  in  regard  to  the  funds.  In 
some  towns  an  accumulated  deficit  is  carried  forward  as  a  school  debt,  but  the  custom 
is  not  uncommon  for  towns  merely  to  charge  or  credit  the  General  Funds  of  the  town 
with  school  deficits,  or  with  surplus  revenue  from  the  schools,  as  the  case  may  be. 

There  is  nothing  complex  in  the  suggested  method  of  accounting  from  an  acount- 
ant's  standpoint,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  a  form  to  carry  out  this  method 
would  be  used  by  several  hundred  towns,  and  by  as  many  officials,  most  of  whom  pos- 
sess no  especial  accounting  qualifications.  The  problem,  therefore,  is  to  prepare  a  form 


RECORDS  AND  ACCOUNTS  135 

that  will  be  simple  enough  to  be  comprehended  by  all  who  use  it,  and  that  will  yet 
obtain  the  desired  result. 

The  form  must  exhibit  the  finances  of  the  town  schools  so  as  to  give,  in  general, 
a  presentation  of  the  accounts  in  such  a  form  that  the  distribution  of  the  expenditure 
for  different  items  in  school  control  and  school  instiiiction  can  be  seen  at  a  glance. 
It  is  desirable  to  use,  or  if  necessary  adopt,  the  forms  recommended  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education  and  the  Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National 
Education  Association.^ 


Legal  Date  of  Reports 

One  reason  for  the  absence  of  correct  accounting  in  the  Vermont  schools  is  found 
in  the  imperfect  time  sequence  imposed  by  law. 

Two  financial  reports  are  required.  One  of  them,  an  itemized  statement  under  oath 
of  the  actual  cash  expenditures  of  the  town  for  school  purposes  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  must  be  filed  with  the  town  clerk  by  July  3.  This  report  is  for  the 
information  of  the  state  authorities  in  apportioning  the  state  aid,  and  is  a  prerequisite 
for  such  aid,  the  law  requiring  that  it  be  transmitted  to  the  superintendent  of  educa- 
tion by  July  10.  The  other  report  required  by  law  is  a  full  record  of  the  actions  of  the 
board  of  school  directors,  together  with  an  exhibit  of  the  orders  drawn  for  school  pur- 
poses. This  also  must  be  filed  with  the  town  clerk  by  July  15,  and  in  a  printed  form. 

The  state  aid,  an  important  element  in  the  full  report  due  on  July  15,  is  thus  de- 
pendent upon  the  preliminary  report  due  on  July  10.  But  it  is  evident  that  the  amount 
of  the  state  aid  can  hardly  be  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  July  10  report  and  an- 
nounced in  time  to  be  of  use  in  the  report  due  on  July  15.  The  full  report  on  July  15 
must  thus  be  necessarily  defective  in  an  essential  respect.  This  difficulty,  imposed  by 
the  law  itself  upon  the  school  directors,  has  prevented  serious  attempts  to  improve 
the  accounting.  It  has  also,  probably,  had  an  effect  even  upon  the  preliminary  itemized 
statement.  Such  anomalies  generally  arise,  as  is  true  probably  in  this  case,  from  laws 
passed  at  different  times,  and  with  different  objects,  and  to  a  failure  to  harmonize  them. 

The  remedy  is  simple.  The  law  should  be  amended  so  as  to  require  the  school 
directors  to  bring  the  fiscal  year  to  a  close  on  June  30,  but  to  file  their  full  report 
on  September  1  instead  of  on  July  15.  This  would  enable  the  report,  by  including 
the  state  aid,  to  give  the  true  revenue  and  expenditures. 

In  addition  to  this  simple  yet  essential  change  it  should  further  be  enacted  that 
the  school  directors  be  required  to  ascertain  the  entire  indebtedness  for  loans  and 
unpaid  bills  up  to  June  30,  and  to  incorporate  these  articles  in  the  preliminary 
statement  furnished  to  the  state.  To  this  end,  the  law  should  provide  further  that 
all  bills  and  claims  by  creditors,  with  the  necessary  showing  of  details,  should  be 
rendered  at  an  early  date  after  June  30,  say  by  July  5.  Appropriate  penalties  for  delay 

1  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1912,  No.  3.  Whole  number,  471. 


136  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

beyond  that  day  would  ensure  this  presentation.  The  requirement  for  this  speedy 
closing  of  the  fiscal  year's  accounts  should  greatly  expedite  the  preparation  of  the 
current  indebtedness  as  it  stands  on  June  30. 

The  items  that  should  be  included  in  the  preliminary  report  of  the  school  direc- 
tors, and  the  form  in  which  it  would  seem  best  to  cast  these  items,  along  with  a  sug- 
gested form  for  the  complete  and  final  report  for  the  schools  of  a  town,  will  be  found 
in  the  bulletin  on  uniform  records  and  reports  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

These  improvements  in  the  form  of  accounting  and  in  the  time  sequence  that  will 
enable  it  to  be  done  correctly  are  the  most  important  suggestions  that  need  to  be 
made.  There  are,  however,  numerous  changes  in  other  documents,  which,  while  of  less 
moment,  would  contribute  much  toward  the  efficiency  of  the  schools''  business  admin- 
istration. 

Records  and  Meetings 

In  the  Vermont  town,  the  board  of  school  directors  being  the  school  authority 
in  which  is  vested  by  law  the  disbursement  of  the  school  funds,  the  record  of  its  pro- 
ceedings is  the  foundation  of  the  school  transactions  and  should  be  kept  with  care. 
The  keeping  of  this  record  is  the  duty  of  the  clerk,  who  is  appointed  by  the  board. 

The  law  requires  the  keeping  of  "  a  permanent  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
board."  ^ 

This  "Permanent  Record""  should  be  kept  according  to  a  more  businesslike  system 
than  the  present.  A  bound  book  should  be  provided  for  this  purpose,  and  the  book 
should  bear  the  caption,  "  Permanent  Record."  In  this  book  should  appear  the  min- 
utes of  the  proceedings  of  the  board,  and  especially  the  following: 

1.  The  election  of  the  chairman. 

2.  The  appointment  of  the  clerk,  and  his  resignation  should  that  occur. 

3.  Memoranda  of  all  agreements  pertaining  to  the  appointment  of  teachers,  the 
regulation  of  their  salaries,  etc. 

4.  Memoranda  of  all  contracts  made  by  the  board,  especially  contracts  for  the 
transportation  of  children. 

5.  A  clear  definition  of  the  period  covered  by  the  school  term. 

The  school  district  will  thus  have,  in  a  form  to  which  reference  can  always  be 
made,  the  fundamental  facts  upon  which  the  administration  and  the  financial  opera- 
tions of  the  district  depend. 

The  law  provides^  that  the  board  must  hold  its  first  meeting  on  or  before  the  third 
day  of  July,  in  order  to  organize  and  elect  a  chairman.  Other  meetings  are  left  to 
the  discretion  of  the  board.  This  seems  wise  and  allows  each  board  to  meet  its  own 
local  exigencies.  The  method  of  calling  a  meeting  is  not  of  great  importance,  but  it 
might  be  well  to  provide  specifically  that  it  be  done  by  the  clerk  upon  the  request 
of  any  one  of  the  directors, 

'  Chapter  45,  section  999.  *  Chapter  45,  section  989. 


RECORDS  AND  ACCOUNTS  187 

Disbursement  of  School  Moneys 

The  law,^  in  the  section  defining  the  duties  of  the  board  of  school  directors,  pro- 
vides that  they  shall  "draw  orders  on  the  town  treasurer"  in  payment  of  the  ex- 
penses incurred  by  them  in  the  management  of  the  schools. 

The  method  of  attesting  the  order  varies,  the  law  apparently  leaving  to  the  discre- 
tion of  the  board  whether  orders  shall  be  signed  by  all  three  of  the  directors.  In  prac- 
tice sometimes  one  director  signs  the  order  for  himself  and  his  co-directors,  the  fact 
being  indicated  by  the  identity  of  the  handwriting.  In  one  instance  it  was  found 
that  blank  orders  were  signed  in  advance  by  two  directors,  leaving  the  body  of  the 
order  to  be  filled  in  by  the  third  director  when  he  added  his  signature. 

It  is  suggested  that  each  order  for  the  disbursement  of  money  for  school  purposes 
shall  bear  the  actual  signature  of  two  directors.  It  might  be  even  better  to  alter  the 
law  and  remit  to  the  clerk  alone  the  ministerial  function  of  signing  the  orders.  The 
board  would  thus  be  the  executive  authority  in  the  school  district,  and  the  clerk 
the  official  who  would  certify  the  expenses  authorized  by  it.  This  would  simplify  the 
administration,  but  the  minutes  of  the  board  would  have  to  be  kept  with  great  care, 
and  the  clerk  should  be  disabled  by  law  from  holding  any  incompatible  office,  such 
as  that  of  town  treasurer. 

The  statement  of  the  purpose  for  which  orders  are  drawn  was  found  in  many  cases 
to  be  inadequate.  Orders  often  show  only  such  statements  as :  "  Pay  to  the  order  of 
John  Doe  thirty  dollars  for  transportation  and  charge  same  to  account  of  moneys  ap- 
propriated for  school  purposes.""  Such  an  order  indicates  merely  the  fact  that  a  cer- 
tain individual  is  paid  for  transporting  children  to  school,  but  it  lacks  the  essential 
facts  of  the  number  of  children  transported  and  the  period  of  time  covered  by  the 
transportation,  so  as  to  ascertain  whether  the  service  for  which  the  order  is  drawn 
is  authorized  by  the  contract  for  transportation. 

A  bill  should  be  rendered  at  the  end  of  each  school  term  by  each  person  author- 
ized to  transport  children,  and  should  contain  the  name  of  the  school  for  which  the 
children  were  transported,  the  names  of  the  children  carried,  and  the  period  of  time 
over  which  the  transportation  was  made.  The  order  should  refer  directly  to  the  bill, 
so  that  verification  of  the  facts  may  be  possible. 

The  orders  for  the  payment  of  the  teachers'  salaries  are  very  frequently  drawn  as 
loosely  as  those  for  transportation.  It  is  common  to  find  such  orders  merely  specify- 
ing "for  teaching weeks." 

The  orders  for  teachers'  salaries  should  contain  the  following : 

(a)  Name  of  teacher  (d)  Number  of  weeks 

(b)  Name  or  number  of  school  (e)  Rate  per  week 

(c)  Dates  of  the  period  covered  (/)  Amount  to  be  paid 

It  is  a  simple  matter  to  have  on  hand  a  regular  printed  blank  showing  these  items. 

*  Chapter  45.  section  990. 


138  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Supplies  and  other  Expenditures 

The  orders  for  the  payment  of  other  expenditures  sometimes  specify  merely  "  for 
supphes"  or  "for  labor."  These  orders  should  contain  a  reference  to  the  bill  and  show 
o-enerally  the  nature  of  the  supplies  or  expense  and  the  date  thereof.  The  bill  should 
contain  an  itemized  statement. 

The  purchasing  system  would  be  improved  if  the  school  directors  were  to  purchase 
only  on  written  requisitions,  which  should  be  kept  in  book  form  with  duplicate  carbon 
copies.  When  the  bills  are  received  the  items  should  be  compared  with  the  requisi- 
tion, and  the  fact  that  the  bill  had  been  received  should  be  noted  on  the  duplicate, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  determined  readily  what  bills  have  not  been  received  and 
consequently  what  is  the  outstanding  indebtedness. 

If  these  suggestions  were  adopted,  the  orders  for  the  disbursement  of  school  moneys 
would  show,  in  a  general  way,  all  the  necessary  information  that  would  enable  one 
not  acquainted  with  local  affairs  to  acquire  a  clear  conception  of  the  purpose  of  the 
order,  and  of  its  details.  The  orders  should  have  securely  affixed  to  them  the  bills  for 
which  they  authorize  the  payment.  After  the  audit  by  the  local  auditors,  the  orders 
with  the  bills  attached  should  be  filed  in  the  same  succession  in  which  they  appear  in 
the  town  treasurer's  cash-book,  and  they  should  remain  in  the  custody  of  the  town 
treasurer  for  future  reference. 


Payment  of  Teachers'  Salaries 

No  regularity  prevails  as  to  the  payment  of  teachers.  The  salary  has  been  paid  for 
as  short  a  period  as  one  week.  Usually  the  payment  is  for  from  four  weeks  to  a  school 
term. 

It  is  certainly  desirable  that  school  teachers,  like  all  other  classes  of  persons  on 
salary,  should  be  paid  at  regularly  fixed  intervals.  The  complication  that  exists  is 
caused  by  the  general  methods  of  financing  the  town.  The  taxes  come  in  irregularly, 
and  the  treasury  of  a  town  is  often,  therefore,  so  low  as  to  make  regular  payments 
difficult.  The  town,  however,  should  not  shift  this  burden  to  the  shoulders  of  the 
school  teachers;  it  would  be  better  for  it  to  borrow  money  for  short  intervals  and 
to  pay  the  teachers  regularly. 

The  law  provides^  that  "a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  any  town  shall  be  en- 
titled to  receive  monthly  payment  of  wages  due  under  the  contract  of  said  teacher 
with  such  town,  provided  such  teacher  demands  of  the  board  of  school  directors  such 
monthly  payment."  This  principle  of  monthly  payments  should  be  carried  into  effect, 
and  it  would  seem  wise  to  make  it  mandatory. 


*  No.  46,  Acts  of  1908,  section  L 


RECORDS  AND  ACCOUNTS  139 

Transportation 

The  law  provides^  that  "said  board  may,  in  its  discretion,  provide  conveyances  for 
pupils  to  and  from  school  at  the  expense  of  the  town  from  such  points  as  it  desig- 
nates, or  may  pay  a  reasonable  sum  for  the  board  of  such  pupils  while  in  attendance 
upon  school."  Any  person  interested  may  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  board.^ 

The  conveyances  are  owned  by  the  towns  in  some  cases,  but  in  no  instance  was 
it  found  that  the  towns  owned  the  horses.  The  supplying  of  horses  is  included  in 
the  contract  with  the  individuals  operating  the  conveyance.  Parents  of  pupils  are  al- 
lowed to  furnish  transportation  for  their  own  children  as  well  as  for  others  residing  in 
the  same  neighborhood,  and  are  paid  therefor.  Frequently  it  appears  that  parents 
so  contracting  are  lacking  in  public  spirit  and  drive  rather  hard  bargains  with  the 
school  directors ;  well-to-do  people  are  found  who  derive  revenue  from  transporting 
their  own  children  to  school. 

Contracts  for  transportation  are  occasionally  put  into  writing,  but  in  most  cases  they 
are  based  upon  a  verbal  understanding  with  the  board.  Sometimes  no  agreement  of 
any  kind  is  made  with  the  board  beforehand,  but  when  the  period  of  transportation 
is  over  a  settlement  is  negotiated  between  the  town  and  the  parties  engaged  in  the 
work,  and  usually  such  a  settlement  is  not  in  favor  of  the  town. 

It  is  suggested  with  some  emphasis  that  in  every  case  of  a  contract  for  transpor- 
tation, the  contract  should  be  made  before  the  commencement  of  the  school  term, 
should  be  in  writing,  and  should  embody  all  details,  such  as  compensation  and  the 
number  of  children  to  be  transported,  which  might  later  be  matters  of  material  dis- 
pute. The  contract  signed  by  both  parties  in  interest  should  be  retained  by  the  clerk 
of  the  board  of  school  directors  and  recorded  in  the  permanent  records. 

These  suggestions,  taken  in  connection  with  the  forms  that  are  recommended  for 
rendering  the  reports,  would  provide  a  business  system  for  the  Vermont  schools  that 
would  be  quite  adequate  to  the  public  needs,  and  one  sufficiently  simple  to  be  prac- 
tically available. 


*  Chapter  46  of  the  General  Laws,  section  1006. 

*  Chapter  46  of  the  General  Laws,  sections  1007,  1008. 


VIII 
THE  FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

Beginning  in  1782  with  a  general  provision  for  school  support  at  the  option  of  the 
towns,  the  requirements  for  school  maintenance  have  been  steadily  advanced.  In  1866 
the  common  schools  became  entirely  free.  In  1902  the  state  tax  was  increased  to  eight 
cents,  in  1904  every  town  was  required  by  law  to  provide  for  secondary  instruction, 
in  1906  state  aid  for  transportation  of  pupils  was  voted,  in  1908  state  aid  for  man- 
ual training,  in  1910  state  aid  for  teachers'  training  courses  in  high  schools,  and  in 
1912  there  was  a  consolidation  of  state  school  funds. 


State  Revenues  applied  to  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schools 
Until  the  passage  by  the  legislature  of  1912  of  an  act  providing  for  the  consoli- 
dation and  distribution  of  the  state  school  funds,  the  state  revenues  applied  to  ele- 
mentary and  secondary  schools  were  as  follows : 

(a)  A  State  School  Tax  was  assessed  annually  at  the  rate  of  eight  per  cent  upon  the 
grand  list,^  and  after  receipt  at  the  state  treasury  was  apportioned  by  the  state  board 
of  education  2  and  paid  to  the  several  towns  and  cities  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  legal  schools  maintained  during  the  preceding  school  year.  In  making  the  general  ap- 
portionment, $45,000  was  deducted  from  the  total  and  divided  among  the  towns  rais- 
ing fifty  per  cent  or  more  of  their  grand  list  for  school  purposes.  The  grand  list  is  one 
per  cent  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  real  and  personal  property  plus  the  ratable  polls. 
The  report  of  the  state  treasurer  shows  that  the  eight  per  cent  tax  for  1911  amounted 
to  $165,632.41.  After  deducting  the  $45,000  reserve,  $120,632.41  remained  for  ap- 
portionment among  2425  legal  schools.  For  1912  this  tax  amounted  to  $176,603.75, 
which,  less  the  $45,000  reserve,  left  $131,603.75  available  for  apportionment  among 
2397  legal  schools.^ 

(b)  The  Permanent  Public  School  Fund  was  created  in  1906  by  combining  the 
$240,000  returned  by  the  national  government  to  the  state  in  settlement  of  Civil  War 
claims,  the  Huntington  Fund  of  $211,131.46,  and  the  United  States  Deposit  Fund  of 
$669,086.79,  making  a  total  of  $1,120,218.25.  The  principal  of  the  fund  amounted 
to  $1,120,596.40  on  June  30, 1912.  The  income  has  been  apportioned  to  the  several 
towns,  according  to  the  number  of  legal  schools  maintained,*  $15,000  being  deducted 
from  the  total  in  making  the  general  apportionment  and  divided  among  towns  raising 
fifty  per  cent  or  more  of  their  grand  list  for  school  purposes.  Aside  from  the  $15,000 

*  Section  1091  of  the  Public  Statutes. 

'  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  sections  1095  and  1096  of  the  Public  Statutes,  as  amended  by  Nos.  34  and  47 

of  the  Acts  of  1908. 

'  The  apportionment  for  1911  was  $120,602.16;  for  1912.  $131,876.63. 

*  Under  the  provisions  of  section  1084  of  the  Public  Statutes. 


FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM      141 

reserve,  there  was  distributed  from  this  source  $36,361.31  in  1911,  and  $34,807.49 
in  1912.^ 

(c)  The  Transportation  Aid  of  $20,000  appropriated  annually  for  the  payment  of 
transportation  and  board  of  resident  pupils  in  attendance  upon  the  elementary  schools 
in  the  several  towns. ^  In  1912  the  sums  distributed  varied  from  $15.67  to  the  towns 
in  Grand  Isle  County  to  $3,118.75  to  those  in  Windsor  County,  and  from  nothing 
to  four  towns  to  more  than  $750  to  the  town  of  Springfield. 

(d)  Union  Supervision  Aid,  Since  1906*  the  state  agrees  to  pay  annually  to  the 
towns  concerned,  toward  the  salary  of  the  union  superintendent,  the  sum  of  $1000 
when  the  annual  salary  of  the  superintendent  is  not  less  than  $1250,  and  in  addition 
thereto  one-half  of  the  excess  above  $1200  of  any  superintendent's  salary ;  such  addi- 
tional apportionment  to  any  one  union  not  to  exceed  $300.  Under  the  provisions  of 
this  law  there  was  paid  to  the  several  towns  under  union  supervision  for  1911  the 
sum  of  $44,224.99,  and  for  1912  the  sum  of  $50,843. 

(e)  Rebate  for  Advanced  Instruction.  Chapter  47  of  the  Public  Statutes  requires 
towns  either  to  maintain  a  high  school  or  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  the  tuition, 
in  other  schools,  of  pupils  desiring  secondary  school  advantages.  Section  1023  of  this 
chapter  contains  certain  provisions  for  state  aid  to  towns  paying  this  tuition.  On 
the  basis  of  tuitions  not  exceeding  $24  per  year,  there  was  paid  to  towns  expending 
for  school  purposes  fifty  per  cent  or  more  of  the  grand  list,  one-half  of  the  amount 
expended  for  tuitions;  to  towns  expending  sixty  per  cent  or  more,  three-fourths 
of  the  amount,  and  to  towns  expending  seventy  per  cent  or  more,  the  entire  amount. 
By  the  terms  of  Act  No.  72,  Acts  of  1912,  an  appropriation  of  $59,982.51  was  made 
for  the  payment  of  the  rebates  for  advanced  instruction  for  1911  and  1912.  The  sec- 
tion providing  for  the  payment  of  these  rebates  was  repealed  by  section  9,  Act  No. 
76,  Acts  of  1912. 

Consolidated  School  Fund.*  In  1912  the  receipts  from  the  eight  percent  state  tax 
and  the  revenue  from  the  interest  on  the  permanent  school  fund  were,  together  with  an 
annual  appropriation  of  $50,000,  consolidated  into  a  single  fund  for  apportionment 
and  distribution  among  the  various  towns  and  other  school  units  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  public  education.  By  the  establishment  of  this  consolidated  fund  the  former 
provisions  for  special  state  aid  for  advanced  instruction,  and  for  transportation  and 
board  of  pupils,  were  repealed.  This  consolidated  fund  is  to  be  apportioned  according 
to  the  following  graduated  scheme : 

(o)  On  account  of  current  expenses. 

Towns  devoting  more  than  50  per  cent  of  their  grand  list  to  current  school 
expenses  shall  receive  40  per  cent  of  this  excess ;  those  so  devoting  more  than  60 

'  The  total  of  this  distribution,  taken  from  the  report  of  the  state  treasurer  for  1911-12,  page  71,  is  $101,168.80. 

^  By  the  provisions  of  section  1014  of  the  Public  Statutes. 

^  Section  941  of  chapter  42  of  the  Public  Statutes. 

*  By  the  provisions  of  Act  No.  76,  Acts  of  1912  (approved  February  22,  1913). 


142  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

per  cent  shall  receive,  in  addition,  20  per  cent  of  such  excess;  and  those  so  de- 
voting more  than  70  per  cent  shall  receive,  in  addition,  10  per  cent  of  this  last 
excess. 

(b)  On  account  of  tuition  for  advanced  instiiiction. 

Towns  expending  50  per  cent  of  their  grand  list  for  cuiTent  school  expenses  shall 
receive  25  per  cent  of  their  annual  expenditure  for  high  school  or  academy  tuition 
up  to  $30  per  student  per  year;  those  which  so  expend  70  per  cent  of  their  grand 
list  shall  receive  50  per  cent  of  their  outlay  for  tuition  with  the  same  limit.  To 
make  this  effective,  the  average  weekly  salary  of  the  elementary  school  teachers 
must  not  exceed  $11,  nor  may  the  annual  number  of  weeks  of  elementary  school 
exceed  36. 

(c)  On  account  of  transportation  and  board. 

Towns  shall  receive  25  per  cent  or  50  per  cent  of  their  expenditure  for  transpor- 
tation and  board  on  the  same  terms  as  in  (6),  with  the  same  proviso  as  to  salaries 
and  number  of  weeks  of  school. 

(d)  On  account  of  trained  teachers. 

Towns  shall  receive  one  dollar  per  week  for  each  graduate  of  a  normal  school, 
training  course,  or  recognized  kindergarten  training-school  who  is  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  a  rural  school.  Such  graduate  must  be  legally  qualified  and  certified, 
and  must  have  received  not  less  than  $7,  exclusive  of  board,  as  a  beginner,  and 
at  least  $8  after  30  weeks  of  teaching  in  rural  schools  since  graduation. 

(e)  The  remainder  of  the  fund  shall  be  divided  among  the  towns  and  unorgan- 
ized units  according  to  the  number  of  legal  schools  in  each,  provided  that : 

(1)  When  a  school  has  been  discontinued  the  town  shall  be  entitled  to  its 
share  as  a  legal  school  for  one  year  after  its  discontinuance;  to  one-half  of 
such  share  for  the  second  year,  and  to  one-fourth  of  such  share  for  the  third 
year  after  discontinuance. 

(2)  A  town  expending  less  than  40  per  cent  of  its  grand  list  for  current  school 
purposes  shall  forfeit  a  corresponding  percentage  of  its  share  of  the  remainder 
of  the  fund,  and  the  sum  forfeited  shall  be  credited  to  the  fund. 

(3)  The  school  board  shall  furnish  to  the  town  clerks  on  or  before  July  3  an- 
nually, swoni  statements  of  data  concerned  in  the  above  provisions;  and  the 
town  clerks  shall,  on  or  before  the  10th  of  July,  certify  the  same  to  the  super- 
intendent of  education. 


Local  Support  for  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schooi^s 
Each  town  in  the  state  is  obliged  to  maintain  for  at  least  twenty-eight  weeks  in  a 
year  (one  hundred  and  fifty  days,  including  the  usual  holidays  and  others  allowed  bv 
law)  a  sufficient  number  of  elementary  schools  for  the  instruction  of  children  who  may 
legally  attend  the  public  schools  in  that  town.  These  schools  are  to  be  located  in  such 
places  and  held  at  such  times  as,  in  the  judgment  of  the  board  of  school  directors,  will 


FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM      143 

best  serve  the  interests  of  education  and  so  far  as  practicable  give  the  pupils  of  the 
town  equal  advantages.  The  board  of  school  directors  is  authorized  to  provide  convey- 
ance for  pupils  to  and  from  school  at  the  expense  of  the  town,  or  to  pay  a  reasonable 
sum  for  the  board  of  such  pupils  while  in  attendance  upon  school  (Public  Statutes, 
chapter  46).  A  special  state  aid  is  granted  to  towns  furnishing  transportation  and 
board  for  their  resident  pupils  in  attendance  upon  elementary  schools. 

The  establishment  and  maintenance  of  kindergartens  and  evening  schools  by  towns 
is  also  authorized. 

The  statutes  (section  1017)  require  that  a  town  must  maintain  a  high  school  or 
furnish  higher  instruction  for  its  advanced  pupils  as  follows:  "The  board  of  school 
directors  shall,  at  an  expense  not  to  exceed  eight  dollars  a  term  or  twenty-four  dol- 
lars a  year  for  each  pupil,  unless  the  board  is  authorized  by  vote  of  the  town  to  pay 
a  higher  tuition,  provide  and  arrange  for  the  instruction  of  advanced  pupils  in  a  high 
school  of  an  incorporated  district  or  an  academy  within  the  town,  or  with  high  schools 
or  academies  of  other  towns  within  or  without  the  state."  If  a  town  does  not  main- 
tain a  high  school  of  the  first  class  (four  years),  the  board  must  provide  and  arrange 
for  the  instruction  of  the  advanced  pupils  of  the  town  in  other  schools  for  the  re- 
maining years  necessary  to  complete  the  course  or  courses  of  study  in  a  high  school 
of  the  first  class.  Special  state  aid  is  provided  under  certain  conditions  to  towns 
paying  tuition  for  advanced  instruction. 

The  chief  source  of  support  for  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools  of  the  town 
is  through  a  local  tax  of  not  less  than  twenty  per  cent  of  the  grand  list. 

The  grand  lists  of  the  268  towns  and  other  school  tax  units  for  1912  ranged  from 
$342  to  $167,588;  the  median  was  about  $4500,  that  is,  half  paid  more  and  half  paid 
less  than  this  amount.^ 

The  per  cent  of  tax  levy  in  the  268  towns  and  school  tax  units  for  which  reports 
were  made  for  1912  ranged  from  20  to  140  per  cent  of  their  grand  lists.  The  median 
was  about  65  per  cent.^ 

The  per  capita  yield  of  the  local  tax  levy  in  the  several  towns  and  taxing  units 
for  1912,  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  census  children^  between  five  and  seventeen 
years  inclusive,  ranged  from  $5.50  to  $83.91.  The  median  local  tax  yield  for  school 
purposes  was  about 


Total  Resources  for  Elementary  and  Secondary  Education 
For  the  fiscal  year  1912  the  amounts  from  the  principal  sources  of  operating  revenue 


were: 


'  Details  are  given  in  Part  IIL 

'  The  calculation  is  based  on  the  school  census  rather  than  on  the  averapre  daily  attendance,  because  the  latter, 

although  a  better  basis,  is  made  complicated  and  uncertain  by  pupils  living  in  one  town  and  attending  school  in 

another. 


144  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


Local  tax 

$1,296,564 

State  tax 

165,080 

Permanent  School  Fund 

51,24.4 

Special  state  aids 

71,325 

Miscellaneous,  including  tuitions,  school  lands,  bequests,  etc. 

88,683 

Total 

$1,672,896 

Broadly  speaking,  out  of  every  dollar  available  for  the  maintenance  of  the  ele- 
mentary and  secondary  schools,  in  the  several  town  and  school  areas,  77.5  cents  comes 
from  local  taxation;  10  cents  from  the  state  school  tax;  3  cents  from  the  perma- 
nent school  fund;  4.2  cents  from  special  aids  granted  by  the  state;  and  5.3  cents  from 
miscellaneous  sources. 


Expenditures  foe  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schools 
A  financial  comparison  between  the  public  school  system  of  1892  and  the  school 
system  of  two  decades  later  makes  possible  certain  interesting  and  illuminating  con- 
clusions. The  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  1892  and  1912  was  substantially  the  same, 
approximately  65,000.  The  average  daily  attendance  increased  during  this  period 
from  45,057^  to  52,160,  or  nearly  16  per  cent.  The  total  expenditures  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  elementary  and  secondary  schools  during  the  fiscal  year  1892  were  reported 
as  $743,543,  of  which  amount  $549,980,  or  about  74  per  cent,  went  for  teachers'  sala- 
ries. In  1912  the  expenditures  for  current  expenses  amounted  to  $1,672,709,  of  which 
$968,382,  or  about  58  per  cent,  went  for  teachers'  salaries.  To  view  the  situation  from 
another  angle,  while  the  total  expenditures  have  increased  about  125  per  cent  dur- 
ing the  past  twenty  years,  the  amount  expended  for  teachers""  salaries  has  been  raised 
only  about  76  per  cent.  The  average  cost  per  pupil  in  daily  attendance  rose  from 
$16.50  in  1892  to  nearly  $24  in  1912,  an  increase  of  nearly  50  per  cent.  During  this 
time  the  potential  resources,  that  is,  the  taxable  property,  increased  about  30  per  cent 
—the  grand  list  of  the  state  being  $1,600,000  for  1892^  and  $2,193,091  for  1912. 


Direct  State  Support  and  Educational  Standards 
A  large  number  of  comparisons  similar  in  general  character  to  those  just  made 
might  be  presented  as  indicative  of  the  effort  being  put  forth  by  the  state  and  the 
towns  to  support  the  public  schools.  It  is  essential,  however,  not  to  obscure  the 
remaining  fact  that  the  state  needs  yet  to  provide  both  for  a  greater  equalization  of 
the  burden  of  school  support  among  the  communities  of  the  state  and  for  a  further 

•  The  average  daily  attendance  for  1882  was  reported  as  47,772. 

^  Estimated  on  the  number  of  polls,  and  the  value  of  real  and  personal  property  as  given  in  the  Report  of  the  Spe- 
cial Commission  on  Taxation  of  Vermont,  1908. 


FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM      145 

enlargement  of  the  funds  to  be  used  for  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  if  these 
schools  are  to  be  conducted  on  the  high  level  re({uisite  for  the  progressive  welfare 
of  the  state.  The  urgencies  of  the  educational  situation  revealed  in  the  portions  of 
this  report  dealing  with  the  rural  and  the  secondary  schools  are  such  that  additional 
expenditures  on  the  part  of  the  state  must  be  resolutely  faced.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
how  much  Vermont  is  expending  per  capita.  It  is  a  question  of  developing  a  school 
system  equal  to  the  needs  of  its  people. 

The  development  of  the  state's  school  system  during  the  past  twenty  years  has 
already  been  greatly  stimulated  by  direct  state  subsidies.  The  proportion  of  the  total 
expense  for  the  maintenance  of  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools  borne  directlv 
by  the  state  was  considerably  increased  during  the  decade  1902-12.  The  increase  of 
the  state  school  tax  from  five  per  cent  to  eight  per  cent  in  1900,  the  grants  of  state 
aid  for  transportation  and  board  of  pupils,  for  advanced  instruction  and  for  union 
supervision,  and  the  establishment  of  the  permanent  public  school  fund  are  impor- 
tant items  of  this  increased  proportion. 

In  the  granting  of  state  aid  to  the  lower  schools  two  distinct  ends  are  now  gener- 
ally recognized  by  American  states:  (1)  to  equalize  the  resources  of  local  communi- 
ties with  which  to  meet  definite  educational  needs,  and  (2)  to  stimulate  local  commu- 
nities to  further  educational  effort.  Vermont's  plan  of  apportioning  state  funds  seeks 
to  accomplish  both  of  these  ends. 

The  necessities  of  equalization  are  exhibited  by  the  tables  that  have  been  cited, 
showing  the  varying  amounts,  among  the  different  towns,  of  money  raised  per  census 
child  between  the  ages  of  five  and  seventeen  and  the  varying  percentages  of  the  grand 
list  raised  for  school  purposes. 

In  1912,  772  schools,  or  practically  one-third  of  the  entire  number,  had  15  pupils 
or  less.  With  this  condition,  all  calculations  of  expense  based  upon  the  pupil  are  un- 
sound, even  though  showing  a  per  capita  cost  that  is  equal  to  or  above  that  of  other 
towns  or  states.  The  principal  item  of  school  cost  is  the  salary  of  the  teacher.  A  nor- 
mal expenditure  per  pupil  in  small  schools  means  a  low  salary  level  for  the  teachers. 
This  combination  of  many  small  schools  with  a  high  average  cost  per  pupil  explains 
Vermont's  rank  of  fourteenth  among  the  states  of  the  Union  in  the  average  annual 
expense  per  child  as  compared  with  her  rank  of  forty-third  in  the  average  annual  sal- 
ary of  teachers.^  It  seems  clear  that  the  general  standard  of  the  elementary  schools  of 
the  state  will  be  raised  only  through  an  enlargement  of  the  state's  direct  support  of 
these  smaller  schools,  coupled  with  an  intelligent  and  expert  educational  oversight  on 
the  part  of  the  state.  The  inauguration  of  an  administrative  system  of  efficient  type 
will  reduce  certain  expenses,  but  in  the  long  run  the  state  must  spend  more  money  to 
obtain  a  steadily  improved  system  of  schools.  No  other  investment  that  the  state  can 
make  will  return  so  great  a  profit. 

*  See  page  85. 


146  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Principle  upon  which  State  School  Funds  should  be  distributed 
The  practice  recently  and  most  widely  followed  in  the  distribution  of  state  funds 
to  local  communities  has  had  in  view  solely  the  justice  of  the  distribution,  and  has 
therefore  based  its  award  upon  the  school  census  or  upon  some  form  of  school  attend- 
ance. The  plan  at  present  in  operation  in  Vermont  makes  its  major  grant  depend  sim- 
ply on  the  number  of  legal  schools,  without  regard  to  their  size,  or  efficiency,  or  the 
wealth  of  the  community  that  maintains  them.  Both  of  these  plans  are  characteristic 
of  the  period  when  the  state  confided  everything  in  education  to  the  varying  discretion 
of  the  towns,  a  period  when  the  state  itself  had  no  definite  educational  policy.  This 
has  changed ;  the  state  has  become  educationally  conscious,  intelligent,  and  ambitious. 
The  recommendations  of  this  report  contemplate  for  Vermont  a  strong,  well-central- 
ized and  efficient  state  control  in  education.  It  is  obvious  that  with  the  introduction  of 
such  educational  leadership  the  power  of  state  funds  must  be  put  behind  the  policies 
to  be  inaugurated.  Hereafter  money  should  no  longer  be  granted  on  a  per  capita,  or  per 
school,  or  other  merely  numerical  basis.  State  aid,  when  administered  by  the  advice 
of  an  informed  and  vigorous  central  authority,  should  invariably  be  granted  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  stimulate  and  reward  local  effiart  which  is  harmonious  with  state  poli- 
cies. Hence  in  Vermont,  what  assistance  the  state  can  give  should  go  for  better  trained 
and  better  paid  rural  school  teachers,  for  better  buildings,  for  persistent  and  care- 
ful consolidation,  and  for  the  revision  of  the  curriculum  in  the  interests  of  domestic 
science,  manual  ti'aining,  and  agriculture.  Details  of  such  measures  must,  of  course, 
rest  with  the  educational  officers  themselves  to  elaborate;  it  is  sufficient  at  this  point 
to  urge  that  the  chief  tool  for  realizing  their  success  should  be  made  as  responsive 
as  possible  to  their  designs. 

It  is  not  possible  without  a  more  intensive  study  of  the  separate  towns  and  com- 
munities to  outline  a  statement  of  a  permanent  financial  policy  for  the  future  as 
between  state  support  and  local  support  of  elementary  and  secondary  schools.  Such 
a  policy  must  be  worked  out  gradually  by  the  board  of  education  as  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  school  system  proceeds.  State  support,  like  all  other  outside  support  offered 
to  a  community,  has  its  dangers  no  less  than  its  advantages.  It  would  be  a  serious  mis- 
fortune to  lift  the  entire  burden  of  school  support  from  the  community.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion of  judgment  as  to  how  far  a  state  can  go  in  helping  local  schools  in  justice  to 
its  other  obligations,  and  how  far  such  aid  stimulates  instead  of  weakening  local  sense 
of  responsibility. 

In  another  section  attention  is  called  to  the  present  somewhat  loose  methods  of  ac- 
counting and  paying  school  bills,  including  the  payment  of  teachers'  salaries.  So  long 
as  collections  and  payments  depend  upon  two  distinct  sources,  —  state  and  local, — 
it  is  not  easy  to  introduce  a  uniform,  simple,  and  prompt  method  of  accounting 
and  payment.  But  the  solution  of  this  question  and  the  still  more  pressing  one  of 
better  salaries  for  teachers  can  be  worked  out  only  by  the  cooperation  of  the  state 


FINANCIAL  SUPPORT  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM     147 

supervising  agency  with  the  town  authorities.  With  the  stimulus  of  state  aid  and 
of  state  supervision,  it  will  be  entirely  possible  to  bring  state  and  local  authorities 
to  a  uniform  practice. 


THE  REORGANIZATION  OF  THE  AGENCIES  FOR 
ADMINISTRATION 

A  STUDY  of  the  chief  historical  stages  in  the  educational  evolution  of  the  state  for 
the  past  one  hundred  years  furnishes  justification  for  the  statement  that  Vermont  has 
never  completely  assumed  a  definite  constructive  responsibility  for  the  progressive 
development  of  the  public  school  system ;  has  never  clearly  regarded  this  system  as  an 
institution  and  instrumentality  of  the  commonwealth.  This  may  be  accounted  as  a 
natural  result  of  a  combination  of  influences.  Among  these  are  the  sturdiness  and  in- 
dependence of  local  communities  under  the  characteristic  New  England  scheme  of  gov- 
ernment, the  comparative  isolation  of  the  several  principal  geographic  sections  of  the 
state  from  one  another,  and  the  absence  of  any  dominating  city  centres  of  population. 

This  absence  of  a  positive  state  policy  explains  in  large  measure  the  lack  of  a  proper 
state  machinery  for  the  administration,  supervision,  and  inspection  of  the  common 
schools  and  other  public  educational  institutions. 

The  establishment  of  the  first  State  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Common  Schools 
in  1827  and  its  abolition  in  1833;  the  creation  of  the  ofliice  of  State  Superintendent 
of  Common  Schools  in  1845;  the  refusal  of  the  General  Assembly  to  appoint  a  State 
Superintendent  in  1851  and  the  resulting  absence  of  any  state  supervision  for  the  fol- 
lowing five  years;  the  creation  of  a  State  Board  of  Education  in  1856,  which  continued 
until  1874,  when  the  office  of  the  State  Superintendent  was  reestablished;  the  cre- 
ation of  another  State  Board  of  Education  in  1908  as  the  successor  of  a  Board  of 
Normal  School  Commissioners  created  in  1898;  and  the  passage  by  the  legislature 
of  1912-13  of  the  act  creating  the  present  State  Board  of  Education  with  its  partial 
and  ambiguous  authority  over  the  several  parts  of  the  educational  system, — make 
clear  the  lack  of  a  well-planned,  continuous  educational  policy. 

A  casual  examination  of  the  general  scheme  of  the  state's  government  of  the  sys- 
tem of  education,  and  of  the  constitution  and  powers  and  duties  of  the  several  boards 
and  officers  composing  this  educational  government,  reveals  immediately  a  situation 
favorable  to  discontinuity  of  organization  and  to  waste  in  operation. 

A  marked  general  tendency  of  the  past  two  decades  has  been  the  development 
throughout  our  American  states  of  the  type  of  school  government  whereby  an  increas- 
ing authority  and  responsibility  are  centred  in  state  boards  and  officers.  This  tendency 
is  undoubtedly  a  consequence  of  the  wider  recognition  of  the  fundamental  social 
policy  that  public  education,  in  order  to  provide  an  ecjuitable  distribution  of  educa- 
tional opportunities,  must  be  assumed  by  the  state  rather  than  by  local  governmental 
units,  —  district,  town,  county,  and  city.  The  recognition  of  this  larger  state  responsi- 
bility results  in  the  exercise  of  a  large  amount  of  control  directly  by  the  state.  This 
trend  whereby  the  influence  of  the  state  in  education  is  enlarged  and  vitalized  is 


REORGANIZATION  OF  AGENCIES  FOR  ADMINISTRATION     149 

customarily  expressed  by  the  phrase,  "  centralization  of  state  control."  The  first  and 
most  evident  result  of  this  centralizing  movement  has  been  the  erection  of  a  new 
form  of  state  machinery  for  the  oversight  of  public  educational  activities,  especially 
as  regards  elementary,  secondary,  special,  and  supplementary  schools.  This  organi- 
zation is  not  intended  to  take  away  the  rights  of  local  communities  to  govern  their 
own  schools,  nor  to  weaken  their  responsibility  for  school  support.  It  aims  simply 
to  provide,  along  with  moderate  financial  aid,  a  system  of  scinitiny  and  supervision 
that  shall  make  for  a  wider  school  opportunity,  more  uniform  conditions,  and  free- 
dom from  some  of  the  more  objectionable  local  limitations.  The  state  is  the  only 
agency  that  can  undertake  this  function. 

The  former  widely  adopted  plan  of  placing  the  common  school  system  of  the  state 
under  the  general  direction  of  a  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  elected  by 
popular  vote  or  chosen  by  the  legislature,  is  being  replaced  by  a  plan  that  assigns  the 
public  school  organization  of  the  state  to  the  general  control  of  a  small  board  or  com- 
mission appointed  by  the  governor,  with  or  without  legislative  confirmation.  Such 
a  board  or  commission  is  usually  designated  as  "  The  State  Board  of  Education." 
Recent  examples  of  such  boards,  newly  constituted  or  reorganized,  are  to  be  found 
in  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Oklahoma,  Idaho,  New  Jersey,  and  elsewhere.  The 
modern  state  board  of  education  embodies  the  fundamental  governmental  principle 
of  the  immediate  suzerainty  of  the  state  over  the  public  school.  As  to  the  essential 
constitution  and  internal  organization  of  the  centralized  state  board  of  education,  the 
following  general  principle  is  now  accepted :  It  is  a  representative  board  of  laymen,  few 
in  number,  receiving  no  compensation,  appointed  and  constituted  in  a  manner  pro- 
viding for  responsibility  of  performance  and  securing  continuity  of  state  educational 
policy. 

The  State  Board  of  Education  is  the  active  deputy  of  the  people  of  the  whole  state. 
It  is  therefore  composed  of  laymen  rather  than  of  those  professionally  engaged  in 
the  educational  service,  or  of  those  officially  connected  with  other  branches  of  state 
government.  Such  a  board  will  have  in  its  membership  no  representatives  of  par- 
ticular educational  institutions  or  other  special  interests.  Neither  will  it  have  any 
ex-qfficio  members. 

On  the  basis  of  the  best  American  administrative  experience,  in  education  as  well 
as  in  other  governmental  departments,  it  has  come  to  be  generally  agreed  that  this 
board  should  consist  of  few  members.  A  board  of  five  is  perhaps  sufficiently  large  and 
representative.  No  compensation  is  paid  for  service,  other  than  reimbursement  for  ne- 
cessary traveling  or  other  expenses.  The  members  of  this  state  board  are  appointed  by 
the  governor  of  the  state  for  fairly  long  overlapping  terms,  and  in  a  way  that  brings 
about  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  but  one  member  each  year.  Thus,  if  the  board  is 
composed  of  five  members,  one  member  will  be  appointed  each  year  for  a  term  of  five 
years.  Appointments  directly  by  the  governor  fix  responsibility.  The  fairly  long  over- 
lapping term  of  office  contributes  to  the  development  of  a  consistent  and  progressive 


150  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

school  policy.  All  appointments  should  be  made  solely  with  reference  to  ability  to 
serve  the  larger  interests  of  the  entire  people  of  the  state.  Neither  residence,  party 
affiliation,  incidental  or  temporary  prominence,  religion,  race,  sex,  or  specific  occu- 
pation should  be  determining  qualifications.  Such  a  board  will  embody  the  best  and 
highest  form  of  disinterested  personal  service.  Membership  will  be  considered  by 
the  people  of  the  state  as  evidence  of  conspicuous  capacity  for  civic  usefulness.  As 
a  safeEfuard  for  the  character  of  the  board  and  for  the  continued  effectiveness  of  its 
performances,  the  members  should  be  subject  to  removal  by  the  governor,  either 
with  or  without  legislative  concuiTence,  for  gross  immorality,  malfeasance  in  office, 
incompetency,  or  neglect  of  responsibility. 

Thus  organized,  the  State  Board  of  Education  will  fulfil  its  responsibility  to  the 
educational  system  of  the  state,  working  in  accordance  with  the  following  general 
principles : 

Subject  to  the  general  provisions  of  law,  there  will  be  delegated  to  the  board  the 
care  and  oversight  of  the  entire  public  school  system  of  the  state.  The  actual  admin- 
istration, supervision,  and  inspection  will  be  entrusted  to  executive  officers  selected 
by  the  board.^ 

The  Board  of  Education  should  not  itself,  individually  or  collectively  through 
committees  of  its  members,  attempt  to  perform  executive  functions.  Within  the  de- 
fined statutory  limits  it  should  aim  to  provide  ways  and  means  to  carry  out  the  public 
educational  policy  determined  by  the  legislature.  The  actual  execution  of  these  poli- 
cies belongs  to  the  expert  trained  officers  of  the  board,  in  particular  the  commissioner 
of  education,  the  chief  of  these  officers,  with  whom  first  responsibility  rests.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  chief  executive  officer  there  ought  to  be  a  sufficient  number  of  assistant 
commissioners,  supervisors,  and  inspectors  properly  to  care  for  the  state's  share  of 
responsibility  for  the  conduct  and  development  of  the  schools.  The  selection  of  these 
executive  officers  represents  the  most  important  function  of  this  board. 

The  commissioner  should  be  a  man  of  such  breadth  of  education,  of  such  special 
training,  of  such  varied  educational  experience,  and  with  such  a  record  of  successful 
performance,  as  will  entitle  him  to  be  entrusted  with  the  important  responsibilities  of 
the  board.  He  should  be  selected  without  reference  to  his  residence  within  the  state, 
should  be  given  an  indefinite  term  of  office,  and  should  be  subject  to  dismissal  only 
upon  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  entire  membership  of  the  board.  There  should  be  at- 
tached to  the  office  a  salary  to  be  determined  by  the  board,  of  sufficient  size  to  attract 

*  The  question  whether  such  a  board  should  exercise  control  of  the  higher  educational  institutions  of  the  state  is 
one  that  is  not  here  taken  up.  Such  control  might  be  so  exercised  as  to  interfere  with  the  free  development  of  col- 
leges and  universities.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rivalries  and  wasteful  duplications  of  educational  effort,  with  the 
attending  political  complications  which  come  from  the  lack  of  such  uniform  administrations,  are  notorious,  and 
cannot  in  the  long  run  fail  to  bring  upon  these  institutions  unpleasant  consequences.  The  state  of  Idaho  is  just  en- 
tering upon  such  an  administration  of  its  whole  system  of  p\iblic  education.  The  commissioner  of  education,  under 
the  .State  Board,  is  the  head  of  the  whole  system  of  schools,  including  the  State  University.  In  the  case  of  the  state 
of  Vermont  the  absence  of  any  state  institution  of  higher  learning  simplifies  its  problem  of  educational  administra- 
tion. The  State  Agricultural  College,  supported  by  funds  furnished  the  state  by  the  general  government,  has  been 
placed  by  the  state  under  the  control  of  a  board  organized  as  described  in  another  section. 


REORGANIZATION  OF  AGENCIES  EOR  ADMINISTRATIOxX     151 

and  retain  a  skilful  and  successful  man.  The  new  state  of  Idaho,  with  a  population 
smaller  than  that  of  Vermont  scattered  over  an  area  nine  times  as  large,  pays  its 
commissioner  of  education  $6000. 

The  success  of  the  educational  administration  will  depend  no  less  on  the  personnel 
of  the  board  than  on  the  abilities  of  the  chief  executive  officer.  Hitherto  American 
governmental  boards  have  not  reached  a  high  order  of  efficiency.  We  are  now  devel- 
oping in  larger  numbers  the  type  of  man  adapted  for  the  duties  of  trustee  member- 
ship,— a  man  who,  while  not  an  educational  expert,  has  an  intelligent  interest  in  edu- 
cation, and  is  ready  to  give  time  and  thought  to  the  problems  of  the  board  and  to 
bring  to  the  aid  of  the  executive  officers  a  sound  judgment  and  a  mind  keenly  inter- 
ested. The  members  of  such  boards  have  generally  tended  to  fall  into  one  of  two  errors, 
— either  to  become  dummy  directors,  leaving  the  entire  responsibility  with  the  exe- 
cutive, or  else  to  go  to  the  other  extreme  and  desire  to  become  themselves  executives. 
The  business  of  such  a  board  is  to  govern,  not  to  administer.  To  fill  such  a  place  on 
a  board  of  education  is  to  render  to  the  state  service  of  the  highest  order. 

Acting  through  its  officers,  the  Board  of  Education  ought  to  have  general  control  of 
the  entire  educational  system  of  the  state.  This  will  include  not  alone  the  elementary 
and  secondary  schools,  vocational  schools,  and  any  school  established  for  the  train- 
ing of  teachers,  but  also  schools  for  the  training  of  special  classes,  the  educational 
departments  of  charitable  and  penal  institutions,  and  all  supplementary  educational 
activities,  including  those  relating  to  libraries,  which  are  properly  a  part  of  the  state 
educational  system. 

Such  oversight  will  involve  the  estimation  and  preparation  of  a  budget  for  educa- 
tional expenses,  the  enforcement  of  laws  relating  to  schools  and  other  institutions  of 
learning,  the  classification  and  unification  of  the  public  schools,  the  establishment 
of  uniform  records  and  reports,  the  determination  of  the  qualifications  of  teachers 
and  their  certification  for  the  elementary,  secondary,  and  special  schools,  and  the 
recognition  of  certificates  and  diplomas  from  other  states.  The  board  should,  as  the 
supervisor  of  the  expenditure  of  all  state  money  for  educational  purposes,  inspect 
all  institutions  and  report  upon  their  use  of  such  funds. 

The  board  in  cooperation  with  the  state  board  of  health  should  establish  standards 
for  the  constiniction,  arrangement,  and  sanitary  equipment  of  school  buildings  and 
school  sites ;  and  should  direct  the  medical  inspection  and  study  of  public  health  as 
far  as  the  schools  are  concerned.  Such  a  program  ought  to  include  also  a  systematic 
effort  to  inform  the  people  of  the  whole  state  as  to  the  opportunities  of  their  o^vn 
schools.  A  serious  defect  of  the  present  situation  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  not  easy  for 
the  average  parent  to  obtain  disinterested  educational  advice  concerning  his  children, 
or  unprejudiced  information  concerning  the  nearby  agencies  of  education. 

The  necessity  for  such  a  board  has  already  been  fully  realized  by  those  who  have 
given  serious  thought  to  the  educational  problems  of  the  state.  The  creation  of  the 
existing  board  of  education  came  as  a  result  of  this  conviction,  and  its  creation  was 


152  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

a  lono-  step  in  the  direction  of  better  organization  and  a  clearer  differentiation  of 
duties.  The  existing  board  is  defective,  iiowever,  particularly  in  the  restricted  author- 
ity that  is  given  to  it  and  in  its  ambiguous  relation  to  the  superintendent  of  edu- 
cation. Its  reorganization  in  accordance  with  the  following  recommendations  would 
be  the  necessary  initial  step  for  the  establishment  of  a  state  system  of  education 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  all  the  people  of  the  state.  A  rightly  constituted  board  with 
competent  experts  will  step  by  step  revise  the  curriculum  of  the  elementary  and 
secondary  schools,  provide  facilities  for  the  training  of  teachers,  and  meet  the  other 
problems  of  state  education  as  they  arise. 

It  is  recommended,  therefore,  that  the  existing  state  board  of  education  be  reorgan- 
ized so  as  to  provide  for  a  board  of  five  members  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  one 
member  to  be  appointed  each  year  for  a  term  of  five  years ;  that  this  board  have  general 
control  of  the  entire  educational  system  of  the  state ;  that  the  powers  and  duties 
now  belonging  to  the  present  Board  of  Education,  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Permanent 
School  Fund,  to  the  Trustees  of  the  State  Schools  of  Agriculture,  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  State  School  for  Feeble  Minded,  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  Deaf, 
Blind,  Idiotic,  Feeble-Minded  Children  of  Indigent  Parents,  and  the  State  Board  of 
Penal  Institutions,  in  so  far  as  the  Industrial  School  is  concerned,  be  transferred  to 
this  board ;  that  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  board  be  a  commissioner  of  education 
to  be  chosen  by  the  board  under  such  conditions  and  at  such  compensation  as  shall 
guarantee  the  service  of  a  progressive  educational  leader;  that  provision  be  made 
for  the  appointment  of  not  less  than  four  directors  or  deputy  commissioners, — one 
for  niral  schools,  one  for  secondary  schools,  one  for  vocational  schools  (including 
agriculture),  and  one  for  extension  activities.  In  addition  there  should  be  provided 
in  the  appropriation  for  the  state  board  of  education  a  sum  of  money  to  cover  the 
expenses  of  the  board,  the  pay  of  assistants  and  of  clerks  in  the  office  of  the  com- 
missioner of  education,  and  the  necessary  traveling  expenses.  Owing  to  the  impossibil- 
ity of  correctly  estimating  all  of  these  items  in  advance,  it  would  be  of  great  advan- 
tage, and  ultimately  in  the  direction  of  economy  and  efficiency,  if  in  addition  to  the 
sums  set  aside  for  the  salaries  of  the  commissioner  and  his  deputies  a  lump  sum  were 
for  the  first  two  years  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  board,  to  be  accounted  for  sub- 
sequently in  the  form  of  an  itemized  budget. 


X 

THE  VERMONT  COLLEGES  AND  THEIR  RELATIONS 
TO  THE  STATE 

The  higher  institutions  of  Vermont  have  been  studied  systematically  by  the  officers 
of  the  Foundation  for  some  years.  To  supplement  the  knowledge  thus  gained,  each  of 
the  institutions  was  visited  by  several  members  of  the  enquiry  staff,  and  all  of  the 
printed  and  other  records  relating  to  their  work  were  carefully  examined. 

There  are  in  Vermont  four  chartered  colleges  of  higher  education — the  University 
of  Vermont,  Middlebury  College,  Norwich  University,  and  St.  Michaers  Roman  Cath- 
olic College  at  Burlington.  The  first  three  receive  state  subsidies;  the  last  has  not 
hitherto  shared  in  the  state's  bounty. 

The  descriptions  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  Middlebury  College,  and  Norwich 
University  that  follow  are  necessarily  founded  upon  the  study  of  certain  characteris- 
tics that  go  to  make  up  institutions  of  learning.  It  is  not  possible  to  separate  our  com- 
plex institutions  of  higher  education  into  sharply  defined  classes.  It  is  not  possible  to 
analyze  and  compare  those  indefinable  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  that  make  up 
the  atmosphere  of  a  school.  No  scrutiny  could  differentiate  the  devotion  and  the  skill  of 
a  teacher  in  one  institution  from  that  of  a  teacher  in  another  institution.  In  a  very  real 
sense  it  is  impossible  to  compare  institutions  in  their  intellectual  and  spiritual  life. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain  definite  marks  of  sincere  and  efficient  college 
work  upon  which  the  student  of  education  may  safely  lay  his  hand  and  use  as  a  means 
of  comparison.  For  example,  an  institution  that  enforces  its  entrance  requirements 
loosely  and  carelessly  is  not  likely  to  do  college  work  of  a  high  order.  The  retention 
in  the  college  body  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  unfit  students  means  a  sacrifice 
of  the  interests  of  the  larger  body  of  the  well  prepared.  It  is  not  possible  to  teach 
certain  subjects  like  chemistry  or  physics  or  biology  without  laboratory  equipment. 
It  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  a  college  faculty  can  be  gauged  in  some  degree  from 
the  extent  and  breadth  of  their  preparation  for  their  work.  The  skill  and  ability  with 
which  the  facilities  of  libraries  and  laboratories  and  of  lecture  rooms  are  used  are  all 
definite  factors  that  go  to  make  up  the  ability  of  a  college  to  do  its  work,  and  all  of 
these  things  may  be  estimated  fairly  accurately  by  an  experienced  student  of  educa- 
tion, and  compared  with  a  fair  standard  of  college  work  as  determined  by  the  expe- 
rience of  institutions  throughout  the  whole  country.  In  a  very  real  sense  the  income 
of  an  institution  is  a  just  measure  of  its  ability.  This  does  not  mean  that  an  institu- 
tion with  a  small  income  may  not  be  quite  as  good  in  its  own  field  as  an  institution 
of  larger  income,  but  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  institution  which  with  a  small 
income  attempts  to  spread  its  instruction  over  the  whole  field  of  education  must 
be  far  less  efficient  than  the  institution  that  devotes  its  resources  conscientiously  and 
intelligently  to  a  definite  field  of  instruction. 


154  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  descriptions  of  the  three  institutions  under  consideration,  therefore,  deal  in  the 
main  with  these  tangible  evidences  of  college  administration  and  college  work. 

These  institutions  have  much  in  common  in  so  far  as  the  atmosphere  of  the  college 
life  is  concerned,  the  characteristics  of  the  students,  and  their  attitude  toward  study. 
In  all  thi'ee  institutions  there  are  strong  tendencies  toward  earnest  work,  in  all  thi'ee 
a  large  proportion  of  the  students  are  young  people  who  come  from  families  of 
modest  means,  in  all  a  considerable  number  of  the  students  earn  at  least  a  part  of  the 
expense  of  college  tuition. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  student  life  in  each  of  the  three  institutions  is  earnest.  The 
chief  differences  that  arise  grow  out  of  the  differences  in  the  location  and  resources 
of  the  institutions.  In  the  matter  of  location  the  University  of  Vermont  has  a  great 
advantage.  Burlington  is  an  admirable  place  for  the  development  of  a  strong  col- 
lege or  a  university  of  modest  scope.  Nowhere  else  in  the  state  can  a  student  obtain 
so  many  outside  sources  of  improvement  and  cultivation  as  here.  What  the  student 
gains  at  Middlebury  or  at  Norwich  in  intellectual  or  in  social  improvement  must 
come  from  the  institutions  themselves,  and  whatever  may  be  the  advantages  of  the 
concentration  attained  in  a  small  and  isolated  town,  the  difficulties  of  retaining  teach- 
ers in  such  a  situation,  removed  as  they  are  from  facilities  for  their  own  study,  must 
always  present  problems  and  place  limitations  upon  the  work  of  these  institutions. 
If  Vermont  is  to  have  several  institutions  of  learning,  it  is  perhaps  on  the  whole  for- 
tunate that  they  should  present  contrasting  types.  There  are  forms  of  instruction 
and  there  are  students  for  whom  the  small  village  is  best  suited.  The  desirable  thing 
is  that  each  institution  should  devote  itself  to  those  fields  of  instruction  that  are 
best  suited  to  its  own  environment.  A  differentiation  of  work,  an  independent  effort 
to  deal  with  the  educational  problems,  is  the  essential  thing  at  present. 

A  notable  circumstance  in  the  attendance  of  these  colleges  arises  out  of  the  fact 
that  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  students  come  from  other  states.  In  1912-13,  at  the 
University  of  Vermont,  62  per  cent  of  the  students  were  from  Vermont ;  at  Middle- 
bury,  47  per  cent;  at  Norwich,  42  per  cent.  Of  1026  students  attending  the  three 
institutions  nearly  one-half  were  from  other  states.  In  the  medical  school  only  32 
per  cent  were  Vermonters. 

The  University  of  Vermont  was  chartered  in  1791,  Middlebury  College  in  1800,  and 
Norwich  University  in  1834.  In  chartering  these  institutions  the  state  of  Vermont 
assumed  certain  powers  over  them,  and  for  a  number  of  years  it  has  been  appropri- 
ating to  each  sums  of  money.  The  relations  that  exist  between  the  state  and  these 
institutions  are  somewhat  anomalous,  corresponding  neither  to  the  position  of  the 
ordinary  New  England  college  supported  out  of  endowment,  nor  to  the  state  univer- 
sity supported  and  governed  entirely  by  the  state.  The  nature  of  the  relation  in  each 
institution  is  briefly  described  below. 

In  the  original  charter  of  the  University  of  Vermont  it  is  provided  that  the  trus- 
tees, when  required  by  the  legislature  of  the  state,  shall  lay  before  that  body  a  state- 


RELATIONS  OF  VERMONT  COLLEGES  TO  THE  STATE        155 

ment  of  "  all  appropriations  by  them  made  and  the  by-laws,  rules  and  regulations 
for  the  government  of  said  institution  for  their  examination,  approbation,  and  revi- 
sion." The  control  here  given  to  the  state  is  both  negative  and  affirmative.  The  power 
of  "  examination,  approbation,  and  revision"  concerning  the  by-laws,  rules,  and  regu- 
lations is  an  academic  right  that  the  legislature  is  scarcely  likely  to  exercise,  but  such 
a  power  over  all  appropriations  is  a  control  that  would  seem  almost  unlimited  if  the 
legislature  decided  to  exercise  it.  By  an  Act  of  November  6, 1865,  the  University  of 
Vermont  as  created  by  an  Act  of  November  3, 1791,  was  with  its  consent  merged  into 
a  new  corporation  entitled  "The  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  Col- 
lege," to  which  new  corporation  was  transferred  all  of  the  property  of  the  former 
University  of  Vermont,  and  to  which  Avas  granted  the  income  accruing  from  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  of  the  land  granted  to  the  state  of  Vermont  by  the  government  of 
the  United  States  under  the  Act  of  July  2, 1862.  The  corporation  thus  created  is  the 
one  existing  to-day.  It  is  composed  of  twenty  trustees,  nine  of  whom  were  elected 
in  the  first  instance  by  the  trustees  of  the  original  University  of  Vermont,  vacancies 
in  this  number  of  nine  trustees  being  filled  by  their  survivors.  Nine  trustees  are 
elected  by  the  legislature  of  Vermont  for  definite  terms.  The  governor  of  Vermont  is 
an  ex-officio  member,  and  the  president  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agri- 
cultural College,  who  is  elected  by  the  other  nineteen  trustees,  is  also  an  ex-qfficio 
member.  This  corporation,  owning  absolutely  the  property  of  the  educational  insti- 
tution known  as  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  is  thus 
technically  a  corporation  controlled  by  the  state,  since  of  the  twenty  trustees  ten  are 
state  officials  and  the  twentieth  trustee  is  elected  by  the  body  of  nineteen  in  which 
the  state  appointees  are  in  the  majority.  This  technical  control,  however,  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  is  exercised  over  the  representative  state  universities.  In  them 
the  institution  is  controlled  by  a  board  of  regents,  all  of  whose  members  are  either 
appointed  by  the  governor  (in  31  states),  or  elected  (in  8  states)  by  the  people,  the 
legislature,  or  the  state  board  of  education.  Under  the  conditions  that  now  exist,  the 
actual  control  of  the  University  of  Vermont  is  admittedly  and  will  always  remain 
in  the  hands  of  self-perpetuating  tiiistees. 

Middlebury  College,  although  chartered  after  the  University  of  Vermont,  was  the 
first  to  begin  instruction.  Its  charter  entrusts  to  the  president  and  fellows  the  "gov- 
ernment, care  and  management  of  the  college,"  and  provides  that  "  all  laws,  rules 
and  ordinances  for  the  instruction  and  education  of  students  and  ordering,  governing, 
ruling  and  managing  the  said  college  shall  be  laid  before  the  legislature  of  this  state 
as  often  as  required  and  may  also  be  repealed  or  disallowed  by  the  said  legislature 
when  they  think  proper."  VV^hile  the  state  of  Vermont,  therefore,  does  not  appoint  the 
trustees  of  Middlebury,  it  has  a  measure  of  control  over  the  college,  consisting  of 
a  veto  power  over  general  college  regulations.  Thus,  for  example,  the  fixing  of  a  gen- 
eral rate  of  tuition  for  all  students,  or  the  appropriation  of  a  fixed  ratio  of  the  college 
income  for  specific  purposes,  would  appear  to  be  within  the  power  of  the  legislature. 


156  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Beino-,  however,  solelv  a  negative  control,  this  power  has  never  in  the  past  been  ex- 
ercised, and  it  would  be  difficult  to  exercise  it  in  the  future  in  such  a  way  as  to  form 
any  actual  working  control.  While,  therefore,  the  charter  of  Middlebury  College  gives 
to  the  leo-islature  a  certain  veto  power  with  regard  to  the  college  regulations,  this 
power  is  negligible  as  a  practical  matter  of  administration. 

The  charter  of  Norwich  University  goes  somewhat  further  in  the  direction  of  state 
supervision  than  the  charter  of  Middlebury  College,  but  not  so  far  as  that  of  the 
University  of  V^ermont.  It  is  provided  in  the  charter  of  Norwich  University,  like  that 
of  the  University  of  Vermont,  that  the  college  "  laws,  rules  and  regulations  shall  be 
laid  before  the  legislature  of  this  state  whenever  required  by  that  body  and  may  by 
them  be  disallowed,  altered  or  repealed."  On  November  16,  1898,  an  act  was  ap- 
proved by  the  legislature  which  provides  for  still  further  supervision  on  the  part  of 
the  state,  through  a  board  of  visitors,  made  up  of  the  superintendent  of  education 
of  Vermont  e^r  officio  and  four  other  visitors  appointed  biennially  by  the  governor 
of  Vermont  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate.  The  duties  of  the 
board  of  visitors  were  defined  to  be  "to  visit  and  inspect  said  university  at  such  times 
as  they  see  fit  and  to  report  the  result  of  such  inspection  and  the  manner  of  the  ex- 
penditure of  the  money  herein  appropriated  to  the  Governor."  The  legislature  further 
enacted  on  November  29, 1898,  a  statute  to  the  effect  that  "Norwich  University  is 
hereby  recognized  as  the  military  college  of  the  state  of  Vermont  and  its  faculty  are 
hereby  given  local  rank  as  follows :  assistant  professors  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant," 
etc.  ^\^lile  the  legislature  thus  declared  Norwich  University  to  be  the  military  col- 
lege of  the  state  of  Vermont,  this  declaration  added  nothing  to  the  slight  and  unex- 
ercised powers  of  educational  supervision  contained  in  the  charter,  so  that  the  status 
of  Norwich  University  since  that  act  is  that  of  an  institution  whose  property  is  con- 
trolled entirely  by  its  own  self-perpetuating  board  of  trustees,  with  an  ill-defined 
recognition  on  the  part  of  the  state  as  its  military  college,  subject  to  a  perfunctory 
state  inspection  of  the  expenditure  of  state  moneys. 

This  brief  statement  of  the  legal  relations  of  the  three  colleges  to  the  state  of  Ver- 
mont makes  clear  the  fact  that  none  of  them  is  a  state  institution  in  the  strict  and 
complete  or  even  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term.  Each  is  practically  governed 
by  its  own  board,  and  such  measure  of  state  control  as  has  been  given  by  amendments 
of  the  original  charter  or  by  new  acts  has  looked  in  the  direction  of  establishing  just 
enough  control  to  justify  appropriations.  While  the  University  of  Vermont  has  a 
slight,  technical  n)ajority  of  state  representatives  upon  its  board  of  trustees,  the  fact 
still  remains  that  in  the  practical  working  of  administration  all  three  institutions 
have  been  governed  and  will  continue  to  be  governed  by  boards  whose  authority  is 
practically  directed  by  self-perpetuating  trustees.  AVhile  the  state  has  the  right, 
through  the  legislature,  to  assume  a  larger  measure  of  control  over  any  one  of  the 
institutions,  the  method  of  doing  this  under  the  present  charters  and  acts  would  be 


RELATIONS  OF  VERMONT  COLLEGES  TO  THE  STATE        157 

so  cumbersome  and  difficult  that  the  possession  of  this  power  is  rather  the  shadow 
of  control  than  control  itself. 

The  three  institutions  stand  to-day  upon  practically  a  common  basis  so  far  as  state 
control  is  concerned.  The  question  that  really  faces  those  charged  with  the  state  gov- 
ernment is  not  what  measure  of  control  the  state  may  exercise  under  these  somewhat 
ambiguous  measures,  but  rather  what  work  in  higher  education  the  state  ought  to 
support,  if  any;  and  if  it  ought  to  support  such  work,  in  what  institutions  may  it 
be  conducted  to  the  best  advantage  of  all  of  the  people  of  the  state  ? 


XI 
THE  UxNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 

The  University  of  Vermont,  chartered  in  1791,  has  its  seat  in  the  city  of  Burlington, 
the  largest  city  in  the  state  and  in  many  ways  the  one  Ijest  suited  for  a  university 
towai.  Burlington  is  the  chief  port  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  the  general  character  of 
the  surrounding  country  attracts  many  summer  residents.  The  university  itself  stands 
upon  a  plateau  some  three  hundred  feet  above  the  lake,  in  the  highest  part  of  the  city. 

In  1865  the  State  Agricultural  College  was  combined  with  the  university  under 
the  title  of  the  University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,  each  institu- 
tion continuing  nine  of  its  trustees,  the  legislature  electing  those  of  the  agricultural 
college  for  six-year  terms,  those  of  the  university  being  self-perpetuating.  The  presi- 
dent, who  is  an  ex-ojjicio  member,  has  no  vote.  The  constitution  of  this  board  has 
been  referred  to  in  a  previous  paragraph.  The  combined  board  is  required  under  the 
law  to  make  an  annual  report  to  the  legislature,  although  this  is  a  formality  that  is 
not  observed.  The  legislature  may  also  appoint  a  board  of  visitors,  a  right  of  which 
the  state  does  not  avail  itself.  The  present  board  includes  the  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, who  is  an  alumnus,  and  three  other  members  from  outside  the  state.  The  trus- 
tees meet  twice  a  year,  once  at  Commencement  and  once  in  October.  The  executive 
committee,  consisting  of  members  near  Burlington,  represents  the  university  and  col- 
lege of  agriculture  members  equally  and  meets  once  a  month.  The  finance  committee, 
all  being  university  members,  is  composed  of  two  Burlington  men,  a  well-known  New 
York  alumnus,  and  the  treasurer,  who  is  not  a  member  of  the  board.  The  actual  pro- 
ceedings of  the  board  are  but  slightly  affected  by  the  participation  of  state-appointed 
tiTistees. 

The  college  buildings  represent  variations  in  structure  corresponding  to  their  age. 
The  old  college,  known  as  "The  Old  Mill,"  valued  at  $100,000,  was  built  in  1801.  It 
was  rebuilt  in  1825,  when  Lafayette  laid  the  corner-stone.  It  provides  at  present  old 
and  rather  inadequate  dormitories,  lecture  rooms,  offices,  and  a  chapel.  The  library, 
the  gift  of  Frederick  Billings,  an  alumnus,  in  1885,  cost  $175,000,  and  was  the  last 
work  of  H.  II.  Richardson.  A  red  brick  building,  the  Williams  Science  Hall,  the  gift 
of  Dr.  Edward  H.  Williams,  cost  $250,000,  and  is  an  adequate,  fire-proof  laboratory 
building.  The  mechanical  engineering  buildings,  erected  in  1891  at  a  cost  of  $25,000, 
are  suited  to  their  purpose,  but  small  and  crowded.  Converse  Hall,  of  marble,  was 
erected  in  1891  from  a  gift  of  $150,000  by  John  H.  Converse  of  the  class  of  1861, 
and  is  a  good,  well-kept  men''s  dormitory,  but  inconveniently  distant  from  the  other 
buildings.  The  gymnasium  and  drill  hall,  built  in  1901  at  a  cost  of  $40,000,  is  large 
and  fairly  equipped.  The  red  brick  and  terra-cotta  medical  building, costing  $150,000 
and  built  in  1903,  is  a  good  modern  structure.  Morrill  IhUl,  provided  by  the  state 
in  1904  and  completed  in  1907  at  a  cost  of  $60,000,  offers  fair  facilities  for  the  work 
of  the  Experiment  Station.  Small,  but  good  greenhouses,  costing  $5000,  are  near  by. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  159 

Grassmount,  the  dignified  mansion  of  Governor  Van  Ness,  is  used  as  a  residence  for 
women,  some  of  whom  are  also  housed  in  Howard  Hall,  the  former  home  of  General 
O.  O.  Howard.  There  is  a  commodious  president's  house  and  a  temporary  commons 
for  men.  The  United  States  Weather  Bureau  erected  an  observatory  adjoining  the 
campus  in  1906. 

The  endowment  approximates  $1,000,000,  half  of  which  has  been  acquired  in  the 
last  six  years.  A  field  secretary  of  the  alumni  continues  to  work  for  endowment. 

The  income  of  the  university,  not  including  the  Experiment  Station,  for  1912-13 
was: 

From  students  $73,570.73 

State  endowment  (1862  land)  8,130.00 

Other  endowment  38,427.87 

State  appropriation  26,000.00 

United  States  appropriation  50,000.00 

Miscellaneous  12,433.37 

Total  $208,561.97 

The  expenditure  for  the  same  year  was: 

For  equipment  $12,390.90 

Administration  32,291.44 

Current  expense  39,682.43 

Instruction  109,488.69 
Library 

Books  $2,755.04 

Service  3,342.64            6,097.68 

Total  $199,951.14 

All  of  the  thirty  state  scholarships  of  $80  each  were  awarded  during  the  year.  There 
are  also  ninety  university  scholarships  and  a  scholarship  fund.  Until  recently  agricul- 
tural students  from  Vermont  paid  no  tuition.  They  now  have  free  tuition  up  to  $80. 
The  total  cost  to  the  student  ranges  for  men  from  $275  to  $475  a  year;  for  women 

from  $340  to  $400,  as  follows: 

Men  Women 

Tuition,  Agr.,  Arts,  Eng.  ^110.00  Med.  $125.00         $110.00        $110.00 

^-";  ■«■'"'     'o  "•"«         (,80.00  to     200.00 

Board  108.00     to        190.00  [ 

Fees  12.50     to  40.00  10.50  to       38.00 

Miscellaneous  30.00     to  55.00  30.00  to       50.00 

The  university  includes  the  following  departments : 

1.  An  undergraduate  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  of  which  the  Department  of 
Education  is  a  part; 

2.  The  College  of  Engineering; 


160  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

3.  The  College  of  Agriculture; 

4.  The  College  of  Medicine. 

There  is  in  addition  a  course  in  Military  Science  and  Tactics,  but  the  instruction 
in  this  department  forms  a  portion  of  the  courses  offered  in  all  undergraduate  courses. 

The  university  will  be  best  described  by  dealing  with  these  four  principal  divi- 
sions separately. 

The  matter  of  entrance  requirements  is  one  that  may  be  spoken  of  as  a  prelim- 
inary to  such  differentiation,  inasmuch  as  the  entrance  requirements  for  all  of  these 
divisions,  except  for  the  medical  school,  are  the  same,  and  include  practically  the  com- 
pletion of  a  full  four-year  high  school  course. 

In  making  this  study  the  certificates  of  all  students  admitted  to  the  university 
in  the  years  1909,  1910,  1911,  and  1912  were  carefully  checked,  and  were  found  com- 
plete and  accurate.  The  record  of  conditions  and  their  removal  at  the  end  of  the  first 
year  is  carefully  looked  after.  The  university  has  been  a  member  of  the  New  England 
College  Examination  Board  since  1907-08,  students  being  examined  in  all  subjects 
in  which  they  are  not  certified  according  to  the  high  standards  of  this  board.  While 
this  reduces  to  some  extent  the  attendance  in  the  university,  there  can  be  no  question 
that  the  relation  has  brought  about  a  great  improvement  in  the  student  body,  and 
that  the  effect  of  this  well-administered  standard  upon  the  secondary  schools  of  the 
state  has  been  of  enormous  advantage.  The  administration  of  the  entrance  require- 
ments has  been  fair  and  strict. 

The  requirements  for  promotion  and  graduation  are  likewise  well  administered. 
The  class  of  1913  in  arts,  agriculture,  and  engineering  entered  120  in  1909.  Eighty- 
two  mthdrew  and  thirteen  were  added  during  the  course,  leaving  a  graduating  class 
of  fifty-one.  Of  those  who  entered  with  advanced  standing,  five  had  left  the  univer- 
sity and  returned ;  six  came  from  other  well-known  institutions ;  two  entered  from 
other  classes.  Of  those  who  withdrew,  half  were  conditioned,  one-fourth  were  dropped 
by  the  university,  and  one-fourth  lacked  the  money  to  continue.  With  the  exception 
that  the  degree  of  master  of  arts  is  conferred  for  non-resident  work,  the  requirements 
for  degrees  are  excellent. 

The  faculty  of  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences  and  of  the  Engineering  School 
forming  the  great  bulk  of  those  engaged  in  university  teaching,  shows  the  presence  of 
men  trained  in  many  different  parts  of  the  country,  although  in  the  engineering  faculty 
there  is  a  large  proportion  of  local  graduates.^  The  entire  faculty  includes  forty  pro- 
fessors, fifteen  associate  and  assistant  professors,  nine  special  professors,  and  thirty- 
six  instructors  and  assistants.  Of  this  number,  however,  nine  professors,  five  associate 
and  assistant  professors,  twenty-one  instructors  and  assistants,  and  the  nine  special 
professors — in  all  forty-four  out  of  one  hundred — are  members  of  the  faculty  of  the 
medical  school. 

'  The  proportion  of  University  of  Vermont  graduates  in  the  faculties  is  one-tenth  in  agriculture,  one-fourth  in  arts 
and  sciences,  one-half  in  enj^ineerinsr,  and  three-fourths  in  medicine. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  161 

The  total  salary  expenditure  is  as  follows  for  the  year  1912-13: 

Arts  and  Sciences  $70,669.34 

Engineering  14,978.33 

Agriculture  4,377.00 

Medicine  26,928.34 

Experiment  Station  18,396.82 

Administration  17,579.17 

The  salaries,  as  university  salaries  go,  are  low;  and  in  agriculture  and  in  medicine 
many  of  the  salaries  are  nominal,  professors  of  agriculture  receiving  the  greater  part 
of  their  salaries  from  the  Experiment  Station  and  professors  of  medicine  serving  with- 
out salary. 

The  student  body  of  the  university,  with  the  exception  of  the  medical  school,  is 
mainly  drawn  from  Vermont,  and  the  various  parts  of  the  state  have  been  well  rep- 
resented. The  following  table  gives  the  attendance  for  five-year  periods: 

Total 

From  Vermont 

Proportion  from  Vermont 

Proportion  from  Vermont  in  Medical  School 

Proportion  from  Vermont  excluding  Medical  School 

Women  were  first  admitted  to  the  university  in  1871,  the  year  of  President  Buck- 
ham's  inauguration.  The  first  year  there  was  one  woman.  In  1881  there  were  8;  in  1891, 
80;  in  1901,  44;  in  1911,  75;  and  in  1912,  98.  The  women  have  been  admitted  to 
class  relationships,  and  a  large  proportion  have  won  Phi  Beta  Kappa  recognition.  In 
1895  the  university  acquired  Grassmount,  the  former  residence  of  Governor  Van  Ness, 
as  a  home  for  women  students,  and  in  1910  a  dean  of  women  was  appointed.  In  1911 
Howard  Hall,  an  additional  dormitory,  was  purchased,  and  a  third  house  was  rented 
in  1912  for  similar  purposes.  Half  of  the  women  students  live  in  these  houses.  The 
remainder  live  either  at  home  or  with  approved  families.  Four-fifths  of  the  women  stu- 
dents are  from  Vermont,  and  they  deserve  a  more  cordial  welcome  and  recognition  on 
the  part  of  the  university  than  they  seem  to  have  received.  The  further  acquisition  of 
converted  residences  for  their  housing  will  be  inadequate  and  expensive,  and  the  next 
step  should  be  an  adequate  dormitory. 

Approximately  60  per  cent  of  the  whole  student  body  live  in  dormitories  or  fra- 
ternity houses.  The  remainder  live  in  lodgings — the  men  where  they  like,  the  women 
in  approved  houses.  About  one  hundred  students  take  their  meals  in  the  commons 
and  a  considerable  portion  eat  at  fraternity  houses,  of  which  five  are  owned  and  six 
are  rented  by  the  chapters.  Ten  fraternity  houses  provide  lodgings ;  four  provide  board. 
The  houses  that  are  owned  cost  from  $10,000  to  $25,000  each.  The  three  women's 


'.903-3 

1907-8 

1912-13 

508 

497 

559 

340 

348 

350 

67% 

69% 

62% 

43% 

53% 

32% 

82% 

74% 

61% 

162  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

societies  rent  rooms.  Additional  dormitories  for  both  men  and  women  and  an  ade- 
quate commons  are  urgently  needed. 

Athletic  interests  are  managed  by  a  committee  of  five  faculty  members,  one  senior, 
one  junior,  and  an  alumnus.  Military  drill  and  instruction  are  required  of  all  stu- 
dents, except  medical  students,  for  three  hours  a  week  for  two  years.  This  is  at  present 
admirably  administered  by  a  most  competent  and  faithful  officer  detailed  by  the 
United  States  Army. 

In  general,  the  location,  equipment,  endowment,  instructing  staff,  and  student 
bodv  of  the  University  of  Vermont  represent  a  dignified  and  honorable  American 
institution  of  learning.  It  deserves,  and  undoubtedly  will  receive,  the  generous  support 
of  its  alumni,  of  whom  many  occupy  positions  of  honor  and  responsibility.  Of  the 
333  graduates  of  the  university  between  1891  and  1900,  not  including  those  of  the 
medical  department,  106  are  teachers  (33  per  cent),  76  engineers  (23  per  cent),  55 
business  men  (17  per  cent),  31  lawyers  (10  per  cent),  27  physicians  (9  percent),  14 
clergymen  (4  per  cent),  11  agriculturists  (4  per  cent).  Taking  into  account  the  presence 
of  a  college  of  agriculture,  the  small  number  of  graduates  engaged  in  practical  agri- 
culture is  noticeable. 


The  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences 

The  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences  offers  the  ordinary  courses  pursued  in  the  Ameri- 
can college.  Students  in  arts  may  pursue  one  of  two  curricula  of  required  and  elec- 
tive studies.  English,  mathematics,  hygiene,  and  declamation  are  required  of  all  stu- 
dents during  the  freshman  year;  and  military  science  of  all  students  through  the  fresh- 
man and  sophomore  years.  The  elective  studies  begin  with  the  sophomore  year  and  are 
administered  according  to  the  group  system.  In  science  the  curricula  likewise  consist 
of  required  and  elective  studies,  English,  mathematics,  modern  languages,  and  decla- 
mation being  required  of  all  students  thi'ough  the  sophomore  and  freshman  years. 
The  degrees  that  are  conferred  in  these  curricula  are :  bachelor  of  arts  in  the  classical 
curriculum,  in  which  Greek  and  Latin  are  required ;  bachelor  of  philosophy  in  the  liter- 
ary scientific  curriculum,  in  which  Latin  is  required.  A  curriculum  in  commerce  and 
economics,  made  up  from  courses  in  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  leading  to 
the  degi-ee  of  bachelor  of  science  in  commerce  is  also  offered.  There  is  also  a  curriculum 
in  home  economics,  made  up  in  part  of  courses  in  English,  philosophy,  mathematics, 
and  science,  together  with  certain  courses  in  home  economics;  and  for  the  completion 
of  this  curriculum  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  science  in  home  economics  is  granted.  The 
Department  of  Education,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  was 
opened  in  1908,  shortly  after  the  passage  of  the  Nelson  amendment,  which  enabled 
land  grant  colleges  to  spend  a  portion  of  their  funds  on  the  training  of  teachers  of  ag- 
riculture and  mechanic  arts.  There  were  twenty-eight  students  taking  courses  in  educa- 
tion in  1909-10  and  forty-two  for  the  year  1912-13.  Six  took  their  major  work  in  edu- 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  163 

cation  in  1911-12  and  two  in  1912-13.  There  is  a  departmental  library  for  the  use  of 
the  department  of  education,  but  the  opportunity  for  practice-teaching  is  absent.  Stu- 
dents are  admitted  to  the  course  in  education  who  have  completed  the  first  two  years 
in  any  department  of  the  university,  and  the  instruction  that  looks  more  directly 
toward  preparation  for  teaching  consists  of  psychology,  principles  of  instruction,  and 
the  history  of  education.  In  the  absence,  however,  of  practice  opportunities,  there  has 
been  no  reason  to  wonder  at  the  fact  that  the  course  has  as  yet  appealed  to  few  stu- 
dents. Its  work,  so  far  as  the  training  for  teaching  is  concerned,  is  as  yet  theoretical. 
The  strength  of  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences  lies  still,  as  it  has  for  so  many 
years,  in  the  general  college  courses  that  are  offered,  in  which  students  obtain  a 
grounding  in  those  cultural  subjects  that  make  for  intellectual  training  and  spir- 
itual development.  The  offering  of  courses  throughout  the  undergraduate  depart- 
ments of  the  university  is  a  fair  and  honest  one,  although,  as  in  the  case  of  nearly  all 
colleges,  these  courses  have  been  expanded,  at  least  by  title,  to  meet  wants  that  ap- 
parently are  not  yet  felt.  Of  the  237  courses  announced  in  the  catalogue  for  1912- 
13,  exclusive  of  medicine,  186  (or  78  per  cent)  were  actually  given.  Of  these,  65  courses 
were  for  the  109  students  in  engineering  and  31  courses  for  the  79  students  in  agri- 
culture, showing  an  amount  of  expansion  larger,  perhaps,  than  is  yet  needed.  Such  an 
expanded  offering  leads,  as  in  institutions  elsewhere,  to  a  very  large  number  of  small 
classes.  Of  the  271  classes  held  in  1912-13,  37  per  cent  had  from  1  to  9  students,  32 
per  cent  had  from  10  to  19,  19  per  cent  had  from  20  to  39,  and  12  percent  had  over 
40.  Thus,  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  courses  were  below  what  may  be  called  the 
point  of  economic  efficiency. 


The  College  of  Engineering 

The  College  of  Engineering  offers  three  curricula  of  study,  each  covering  four 
years:  one  in  civil  engineering,  one  in  mechanical  engineering,  and  one  in  electrical 
engineering.  The  schedule  of  studies  follows  quite  closely  the  schedule  of  engineer- 
ing courses  common  among  the  better  schools  of  the  country,  including  the  basis 
of  the  physical  sciences  for  the  first  two  years,  followed  by  applications  during  the 
last  two  years.  The  faculty  of  the  school  of  engineering  is  small  in  numbers  for  the 
work  which  it  undertakes  to  do,  but  the  instruction  is  earnest  and  sincere,  and  the 
laboratory  facilities  are  on  the  whole  fair.  The  department  is  in  serious  need  of  bet- 
ter quarters;  the  present  ones  are  small,  inadequate,  and  inconvenient.  In  the  char- 
acter of  the  instruction  and  the  opportunity  for  laboratory  work  the  school  compares 
well  with  similar  schools  of  engineering  in  other  institutions.  In  order  to  do  its  best 
by  the  students  who  come  to  it,  it  still  needs  additional  instructors.  The  pay  of  the 
professors  is  very  small  in  comparison  with  that  paid  by  the  better  engineering  schools, 
and  in  no  way  comparable  with  that  which  the  men  so  trained  can  obtain  in  the  prac- 
tice of  their  professions. 


164  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  State  Agricultural  College 

The  Vermont  State  Agricultural  College  is  the  result  of  the  Act  of  Congress  of 
July  2,  1862,  usually  named  after  its  author,  Justin  S.  Morrill,  for  over  thirty-five 
vears  a  congressman  and  United  States  senator  from  \'ermont.  By  the  "Morrill  Act" 
Vermont  received  30,000  acres  of  the  public  land  for  each  of  the  senators  and  each  of 
the  three  representatives  to  which  it  was  then  entitled.  The  state  sold  this  land  for 
a  little  over  ninety  cents  an  acre,  and  in  1863  attempted  to  unite  the  University  of 
\'ermont,  Middlebury  College,  and  Norwich  University,  or  any  two  of  them,  into 
a  single  institution,  to  which  should  be  joined  a  college  of  agriculture  supported  by 
the  interest  on  the  S135,500  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  federal  land  grant.  This 
attempt  to  unite  the  Vermont  colleges  having  failed,  the  legislature,  in  1864,  made 
a  provisional  organization  of  a  "  Vermont  Agricultural  College,"  the  actual  existence 
of  the  college  to  be  dependent  upon  the  subscription  by  citizens  of  Vermont  of  suf- 
ficient funds  to  supplement  the  income  of  the  federal  grant.  As  subscriptions  were 
not  forthcoming  and  the  legislature  was  apparently  not  ready  to  appropriate  money 
from  the  state  treasury  to  agricultural  education,  the  alternative  was  adopted  of  es- 
tablishing a  state  college  of  agriculture  at  the  University  of  Vermont.  By  an  act  ap- 
proved November  6, 1865,  a  new  corporation  was  formed,  entitled  "  The  University  of 
Vermont  and  State  Agricultural  College,"  governed  by  a  board  of  trustees  consist- 
ing of  the  governor  of  Vennont,  the  president  of  the  university,  nine  legislative  and 
nine  self-perpetuating  trustees,  as  already  described.  To  this  corporation  has  been 
given  the  income  derived  from  the  Act  of  1862  and  the  annual  grants  from  the  United 
States  government  authorized  by  subsequent  legislation.  This  annual  income,  includ- 
ing that  for  the  Experiment  Station,  now  amounts  to  $88,000. 

The  College  of  Agriculture  is  thus  a  correlative  part  of  the  University  of  Ver- 
mont, with  its  own  faculty  and  a  dean,  who  is  also  director  of  the  Experiment  Sta- 
tion. The  faculty  consists  of  eight  professors,  three  insti-uctors,  and  one  non-resident 
lecturer.  Professors  are  paid  from  $1800  to  $2500,  instructors  about  $1200.  The  list 
of  students,  which  for  many  years  numbered  fewer  than  50  annually,  has  increased 
in  recent  years,  and  in  1912-13  stood  at  79.  For  half  a  dozen  years  the  entrance 
requirements  have  been  high  school  graduation,  strictly  enforced.  There  is  also  a 
special  winter  course  intended  for  the  benefit  of  those  engaged  in  farming,  on  which 
the  attendance  in  1912-13  was  24. 

The  e(|uipment  consists  of  Morrill  Hall,  erected  in  1907  from  a  state  appropria- 
tion of  $60,000;  the  laboratories  in  general  chemistry  and  biology  in  the  buildings 
devoted  to  the  arts  and  sciences;  a  small  building,  with  three  greenhouses  attached, 
for  botany  ;  and  a  college  farm.  The  laboratories  in  Morrill  Hall,  which  are  used  by 
the  Experiment  Station,  are  fairly  adequate  for  the  purpose,  and  are  in  constant  and 
intelligent  use.  On  the  other  hand,  the  laboratory  ecpiipment  for  teaching  students 
is  meagre,  and  what  there  is  of  it  is  not  fully  utilized.  Most  of  the  teaching  is  didac- 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  165 

tic.  The  college  farm  is  used  by  the  staff  of  the  Experiment  Station  for  their  experi- 
ments, but  as  far  as  the  uses  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  go,  it  might  as  well  not 
exist.  The  late  superintendent,  as  a  member  both  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  uni- 
versity and  of  the  board  of  control  of  the  Experiment  Station,  was  in  entire  charge 
of  the  farm.  He  thus  directed  the  dean-director  of  the  College  and  Experiment  Sta- 
tion instead  of  being  directed  by  him.  Professors  cannot  use  the  farm  as  an  aid  in 
teaching,  students  are  never  seen  upon  its  premises,  and  the  college  farm  bams,  in- 
stead of  being  a  model  for  well-kept  establishments,  would  probably  be  condemned 
as  unsanitary  by  any  modern  board  of  health. 

The  general  plan  of  the  professional  curricula  in  agriculture  given  at  the  State 
Agricultural  College  is  similar  to  that  in  many  other  agricultural  colleges.  It  con- 
sists of  required  work  during  the  first  two  years,  and  suggests  groups  of  electives  for 
the  last  two  years.  Three  general  lines  of  instruction  are  indicated  :  (1)  agronomy 
and  horticulture,  (2)  animal  husbandry  and  dairying,  (3)  the  teaching  of  agriculture. 

The  curriculum  thus  offered  is  intended  for  men  who  are  prepared  to  take  a  col- 
lege education  and  to  become  professional  men  in  agriculture.  It  has,  however,  even 
from  this  point  of  view,  very  great  educational  weaknesses.  Thus,  the  student  is  given 
a  full  course  in  chemistry  in  the  freshman  year,  and  in  the  sophomore  year  a  full 
course  in  botany  with  a  somewhat  shorter  course  in  zoology.  These  courses  are  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  him  with  a  solid  scientific  foundation  upon  which  can  be 
erected  a  superstracture  of  scientific  agriculture,  but  the  superstructure  afterwards 
erected  is  not  scientific,  but  empirical.  It  could  be  given  almost  as  well  without  the 
burden  of  these  preliminary  scientific  courses  as  with  them.  The  important  subject 
of  agronomy  is  restricted  to  a  single  half-year  elective  course  given  by  an  instructor; 
the  work  in  horticulture  is  but  slightly  related  to  the  preceding  biological  founda- 
tions; the  animal  husbandry,  given  in  the  junior  year,  although  preceded  by  zoology, 
is  admitted  to  be  as  frankly  empirical  as  similar  courses  given  in  the  freshman  year 
of  other  agricultural  colleges. 

An  agricultural  college  curriculum  that  is  entirely  scientific  may  be  defensible. 
Such  courses  are  given  at  some  of  the  agricultural  schools.  On  the  other  hand,  courses 
in  agriculture  that  are  almost  exclusively  empirical  may  be  desirable.  They  appeal 
to  a  different  set  of  students  and  seek  to  attain  a  different  object.  The  kind  of  agri- 
cultural college  curriculum,  however,  that  seems  hard  to  defend  is  that  illustrated 
in  the  courses  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  in  which  the  student  is  can-ied  through 
preliminary  scientific  training  and  then  given  direct  agricultural  studies  that  could 
be  carried  on  as  well  without  this  preliminary  scientific  requirement. 

Not  only  are  the  technical  agricultural  courses  inadequately  adjusted  to  the  sci- 
entific work  that  has  preceded  them,  but  there  is  a  great  lack  of  agricultural  work, 
whether  given  upon  a  scientific  basis  or  upon  an  empirical  basis.  The  student  who 
elects  the  course  in  agronomy  and  horticulture  has  in  agronomy,  in  his  sophomore 
year,  one  full  semester  course  in  soils  and  soil  management,  and  for  one  semester  a  one- 


166  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

hour  course  in  grasses  and  forage  plants.  In  his  junior  year  he  can  take  for  one  semester 
a  three-hour  course  in  field  crops,  but  he  may  elect  instead  plant  pathology.  This  is 
absolutely  all  the  work  the  course  in  agronomy  offers  to  a  student  who  specializes  in 
this  subject  at  the  Agricultural  College.  It  would  not  be  regarded  as  at  all  sufficient 
at  most  colleges  of  agriculture. 

The  absence  of  coordination  between  the  two  parts  of  the  agricultural  college  cur- 
riculum indicates  that  the  University  of  Vermont  has  not  yet  seriously  set  itself  to 
consider  what  function  its  Agricultural  College  can  perform.  If  it  becomes  a  school 
for  elementary  instruction  in  agriculture,  it  will  not  need  the  fundamental  sciences 
in  its  curriculum ;  if  it  is  to  be  an  institution  for  training  in  scientific  agriculture, 
it  is  necessary  not  only  to  have  these  fundamental  sciences,  but  also  to  make  its  ag- 
ricultural courses  strictly  technical,  and  to  offer  the  opportunity  of  a  good  library  of 
technical  agricultural  literature.  In  the  Agricultural  College  as  now  conducted  one 
sees  these  two  divergent  aims  of  agricultural  education  combined  in  such  a  way  as  to 
fulfil  neither  purpose  well.  By  requiring  the  four-year  high  school  standard  for  admis- 
sion and  by  prescribing  the  fundamental  sciences  in  the  first  two  years,  the  school 
cuts  itself  off"  from  serving  the  farm  boy  who  wishes  trade  instruction  in  order  to 
return  to  work  on  the  farm.  By  making  its  agricultural  courses  empirical  rather  than 
technical,  it  has  not  served  well  those  students  who  wish  thorough  scientific  training 
in  modern  agriculture. 

There  is  also  a  striking  absence  of  the  more  familiar  agricultural  courses.  For  ex- 
ample, there  is  no  work  in  entomology  beyond  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  professor 
of  zoology  in  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences  to  make  his  introductory  course  cover 
as  much  entomology  as  possible.  If  the  student  is  to  receive  a  good  fundamental 
training  in  zoology,  which  is  essential  to  the  scientific  study  of  technical  agriculture, 
it  is  impossible  in  this  course  to  make  entomology  anything  beyond  a  bare  outline. 

There  is  also  no  course  at  Vermont  in  agricultural  chemistry,  now  almost  univer- 
sally considered  a  necessity  in  colleges  of  agriculture.  The  agricultural  college  stu- 
dents in  Vermont  have  altogether  only  one  yearns  work  in  chemistry,  a  foundation 
quite  insufficient  for  a  superstructure  of  technical  scientific  agriculture.  In  the  stronger 
agricultural  colleges  at  least  a  year  and  a  half,  and  generally  more,  is  required,  with 
specific  courses  in  the  agricultural  application  of  the  science. 

The  absence  of  effective  work  in  poultry  raising  is  equally  striking,  particularly 
in  view  of  the  attention  paid  in  other  colleges  of  New  England  to  the  opportunities 
in  this  direction.  For  example,  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  there  is  a 
large  building  devoted  to  poultry  husbandry,  together  with  several  smaller  buildings 
and  breeding-houses  accommodating  a  large  and  excellent  stock  of  the  various  breeds 
of  chickens,  ducks,  and  geese.  Somewhat  similar  conditions  exist  in  the  other  New 
England  agricultural  colleges.  The  Rhode  Island  State  College  has  three  courses  in 
poultry  husbandry,  one  of  which  is  recpiired  of  all  agricultural  freshmen.  In  contrast 
to  the  activity  in  this  field  elsewhere  in  New  England, poid try  husbandry  is  given  at 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  167 

the  Vermont  Agricultural  College  only  by  a  non-resident  lecturer,  at  an  expenditure 
by  the  university  of  $150  a  year.  There  is,  however,  no  reason  to  suppose  that  Ver- 
mont is  not  quite  as  much  adapted  to  this  lucrative  side  of  agricultural  industry 
as  the  other  New  England  states.  There  is  a  similar  absence  of  other  subjects  usually 
present  in  the  curriculum  of  the  better  agricultural  colleges,  such  as  instruction  in 
farm  machinery. 

The  entire  agricultural  equipment  at  Vermont  is  meagre.  Thus,  the  equipment  for 
teaching  scientific  dairying  is  not  adequate,  the  department  is  not  adequately  housed, 
and  there  are  no  animals  available  for  teaching  purposes.  It  is  true  that  there  are 
animals  upon  the  farm  attached  to  the  Experiment  Station,  but  they  have  been  se- 
lected for  commercial  reasons  and  are  not  necessarily  adapted  to  the  needs  of  teach- 
ing. In  addition,  students  have  no  access  to  this  farm  and  professors  very  limited 
access.  For  this  reason  live-stock  judging  cannot  be  properly  carried  on,  even  upon 
its  present  empirical  basis.  For  such  work  the  professor  in  charge  is  compelled  to  take 
his  students  to  commercial  establishments  in  the  vicinity  of  Burlington.  There  is  no 
piggery.  A  few  pigs  live  in  the  manure  cellar  under  the  bam.  The  barn  for  the  dairy 
cattle,  erected  twenty-two  years  ago,  is  not  of  modern  construction.  This  lack  of  equip- 
ment seriously  affects  the  work  of  animal  husbandry, — particularly  in  dairying,  which 
is  the  principal  industry  in  Vermont.  A  marked  lack  of  the  Agricultural  College  is 
the  absence  of  a  separate  technical  library  available  for  the  students.  There  are  a  few 
agricultural  books,  almost  exclusively  departmental  and  Experiment  Station  reports, 
housed  in  the  basement  of  the  general  library.  But  there  is  no  adequate  collection  of 
scientific  agricultural  literature,  and  very  few  of  the  agricultural  technical  journals 
appear.  It  would  be  impossible  for  this  to  be  otherwise  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
sum  available  for  agricultural  literature  each  year  is  only  $62.50. 

To  sum  up  the  situation  with  respect  to  the  College  of  Agriculture,  it  may  be  said 
that  its  courses  are  not  based  upon  a  consistent  educational  policy,  that  the  equip- 
ment for  teaching  is  meagre,  that  on  their  practical  side  the  courses  seriously  lack 
equipment,  and  that  by  reason  of  these  conditions  the  College  of  Agriculture  is  not 
adapted  to  serve  well  either  the  needs  of  the  boy  who  desires  to  be  a  practical  farmer 
or  those  of  the  youth  who  looks  toward  a  scientific  training  in  agriculture,  and  finally, 
that  this  whole  situation  has  lent  itself  to  a  regime  under  which  the  college  has  a 
very  slender  connection  with  the  agricultural  industries  of  the  state.  It  does  not  help 
or  guide  these  industries  in  any  such  way  as  should  be  expected  of  an  eflficient  agricul- 
tural college. 

These  statements  are  not  made  with  any  desire  to  criticize  the  professors  in  the 
Agricultural  College.  These  professors  are  excellent  men,  and  they  have  done  admira- 
bly with  the  means  that  they  have  had  at  their  command.  The  situation  in  which  the 
College  of  Agriculture  finds  itself — the  lack  of  equipment,  the  empirical  quality 
of  its  courses,  and  the  failure  to  connect  itself  with  the  industries  of  the  state  —  is 
the  result  of  a  policy  of  administration  for  which  the  trustees  are  responsible.  This 


168  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

consists  in  the  expenditure  that  the  trustees  make  of  the  generous  annual  gift  that 
the  state  receives  from  the  United  States  government,  amounting  to  a  little  more 
than  388,000.  By  law  $30,000  of  this  must  be  spent  for  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station.  The  $8130  received  as  interest  on  the  federal  grant  of  1862  is  not  required 
by  law  to  be  expended  in  any  specific  manner;  $3200  of  it  is  used  in  the  support  of 
the  university  treasurer's  office.  The  remaining  $50,000  received  annually  from  the 
United  States  Treasury  is  spent  as  follows,  according  to  the  University's  report : 

Engineering  $  1 3,302 

Natural  and  Physical  Science  11,246 

Botany  and  Zoology  5,660 

Agriculture  5,481 

Mathematics  5,240 

Economic  Science  4,697 

English  4,122 

Sundries  252 

Total  $50,000 

One  does  not  need  to  go  farther  than  this  to  understand  the  poverty  and  defi- 
ciencies of  the  State  School  of  Agriculture.  Out  of  $58,130  received  from  the  general 
government  chiefly  for  agricultural  education  there  is  expended  on  the  agricultural 
school  as  such,  $5481.  The  remaining  $53,000  are  spent  upon  subjects  that  the  uni- 
versity would  teach  if  it  had  no  school  of  agriculture.  In  a  word,  the  appropriation  of 
the  general  government  for  agricultural  education  has  been  used  under  the  policy  of 
the  trustees  for  the  benefit  of  the  general  educational  development  of  the  university, 
and  in  the  process  the  Agricultural  College  has  been  milked  dry.  The  college  being 
thus  weakened,  there  is  then  an  effort  to  help  it  by  turning  the  Experiment  Station 
into  a  teaching  agency,  a  process  equally  injurious  to  the  Experiment  Station.  It  is  a 
singular  outcome  of  the  legislation  enacted  at  the  instance  of  Senator  Momll,  him- 
self a  Vermonter,  whose  object,  as  he  himself  expressed  it,  was  "to  do  something  for 
the  farmer."  It  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  this  policy  has  been  carried  out  by  a 
board  half  of  whose  trustees  are  appointed  by  the  state  in  order  to  look  out  for  the 
interests  of  the  State  Agricultural  College.  The  outcome  illustrates  how  small  a  meas- 
ure of  state  control  is  vested  in  a  board  so  constituted.  Omitting  the  $8130  received 
from  the  interest  on  the  grant  of  1862,  the  trustees,  after  the  expenditures  made  on  en- 
gineering, the  natural  and  physical  sciences,  mathematics,  economic  science,  and  Eng- 
lish, leave  themselves,  out  of  the  income  derived  from  the  federal  government,  only 
$11,141  to  spend  on  agricultural  education.  Of  this  sum  $5660  are  spent  upon  botany 
and  zoology,  which,  although  necessary  for  a  college  education  in  agriculture,  would, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  be  provided  by  any  university  maintaining  a  college 
of  arts  and  sciences.  In  other  words,  of  the  total  sum  of  $50,000  received  by  the  trus- 
tees from  the  United  States  government  because  of  the  presence  of  the  Agricultural 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT 


169 


College,  only  $5481  are  spent  otherwise  than  would  be  the  case  if  the  Agricultural 
College  existed  elsewhere.  That  is  to  say,  only  this  sum  of  money  is  spent  upon  dis- 
tinctively agricultural  subjects,  such  as  agronomy,  soils,  horticulture,  farm  machin- 
ery, farm  management,  dairying,  animal  husbandry,  and  the  like.  This  has  always 
been  the  policy  of  the  university  trustees,  but  it  is  a  policy  that  has  been  accentuated 
in  recent  years.  Twenty  years  ago  the  trustees  allotted  only  $3376  to  distinctively  agri- 
cultural education,  but  the  annual  appropriation  from  the  United  States  government 
then  stood  at  $18,000.  This  appropriation  has  increased  in  the  intervening  twenty 
years  by  $32,000,  but  the  sum  allotted  to  agriculture  has  grown  by  only  $2105. 

It  is  worth  while  to  make  some  comparison  of  the  policy  of  different  institutions 
with  respect  to  the  use  of  the  annual  federal  grant.  This  is  exhibited  in  the  following 
table  of  the  disbursement  of  such  funds  in  1911—12.^  In  this  table  the  University  of 
Vermont  and  Rutgers  College  are  the  two  remaining  institutions  in  the  United  States 
in  which  the  state  agricultural  college  is  part  of  a  privately  endowed  institution.  The 
universities  of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  and  Illinois  represent  states  having  strong  agri- 
cultural schools  in  institutions  owned  and  controlled  by  the  state,  and  aided  also  by 
large  state  appropriations. 


Natural  and 

Agriculture 

Engineering 

English 

Mathematics 

Physical 
Sciences 

$3,659.69 

$11,108.60 

$5,350.00 

$10,407.09 

$19,474.72 

5.481.39 

13,202.34 

4,122.92 

5,240.00 

16,905.45 

10,400.00 

11,300.00 

6,200.00 

4,300.00 

10,900.00 

20,000.00 

10,100.00 

5,600.00 

5,750.00 

5,050.00 

25,000.00 

5,583.30 

19,416.70 

Rutgers  College 

University  of  Vermont... 
University  of  Minnesota 
University  of  Wisconsin 
University  of  Illinois 


This  expenditure  of  the  federal  appropriations  on  subjects  other  than  agriculture 
may  or  may  not  be  strictly  legal.  The  first  Morrill  act  provided  that  the  funds  realized 
under  it  should  be  used  in  the  maintenance  of  colleges  "where  the  leading  objects  shall 
be  ...  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts,"  and  the  expression  "mechanic  arts"  has  been  universally  construed  to  mean 
engineering.  The  act  furthermore  declared  that  although  such  were  to  be  the  leading 
objects  of  these  colleges,  this  was  to  be  "without  excluding  other  scientific  or  clas- 
sical studies,"  and  this  comprehensive  language  was  followed  in  the  "second  Morrill 
act,"  of  August  30,  1890.  But  the  debates  in  Congress  when  these  acts  were  under 
consideration  show  conclusively  that  it  was  to  benefit  agriculture  primarily  that  these 
appropriations  were  authorized  by  the  United  States  government,  and  as  Vermont 
is  predominantly  an  agricultural  state,  it  is  certainly  questionable  whether  the  trus- 
tees of  the  University  of  Vermont  by  t^ieir  present  method  of  expenditure  are  exe- 
cuting the  intent  of  Congress,  or  serving  the  best  interests  of  Vermont. 

The  attitude  of  the  trustees  toward  the  Agricultural  College  can  be  appreciated 


^  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  Report,  1912,  II,  361-363. 


170  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

only  by  going  back  to  the  history  of  its  establishment.  What  has  gone  on  in  Vermont 
has  in  large  measure  gone  on  in  all  other  states  of  the  Union.  When  the  first  Morrill 
act  was  passed  providing  for  agricultural  education,  neither  Senator  Morrill  nor  the 
states  themselves  had  any  clear  idea  of  what  sort  of  institution  was  to  be  developed 
for  the  benefit  of  the  people  on  the  farms.  In  this  legislation  the  term  "mechanic 
arts"  played  a  very  subsidiary  part,  and  unquestionably  was  intended  at  the  moment 
to  include  only  those  elementary  mechanic  arts  that  are  immediately  associated  with 
farming.  AMien,  however,  the  states  received  the  grants,  and  the  practical  question 
arose  as  to  what  disposition  should  be  made  of  the  money,  the  term  "mechanic  arts'" 
assumed  an  unexpected  and  far-reaching  role.  The  great  engineering  schools  had  just 
been  founded.  Engineering  education  had  been  placed  upon  a  sound  scientific  basis, 
and  a  curriculum  for  the  training  of  engineers  had  been  adopted  that  lent  itself 
with  fair  success  to  the  end  aimed  at.  In  the  absence  of  any  educational  considera- 
tion as  to  how  agriculture  could  be  taught  or  what  was  the  most  effective  way  to 
serve  the  educational  interests  of  those  upon  the  farms,  the  term  "mechanic  arts" 
was  quickly  translated  to  mean  high-grade  engineering,  and  from  that  day  the  en- 
gineering side  of  education  has  overshadowed  agricultural  education  in  most  of  the 
land-grant  institutions. 

Not  only  was  there  a  lack  of  any  educational  program  for  teaching  agriculture,  but 
at  the  time  of  the  Morrill  acts,  and  for  many  years  after,  most  intelligent  people,  in- 
cluding farmers  themselves,  looked  down  upon  the  agricultural  school  as  a  doubtful 
agency  in  education.  The  students  of  the  Vermont  Agricultural  College,  as  everywhere 
else,  were  not  in  favor  with  the  general  student  body.  The  "Aggies"  were  looked 
upon  as  decidedly  inferior  to  students  of  arts,  of  science,  or  of  engineering ;  and 
when  the  University  of  Vermont,  an  old  and  well-established  institution,  took  over 
the  State  Agricultural  College,  it  was  not  through  any  sympathy  with  the  ideal  of 
agricultural  education,  or  through  any  desire  to  have  an  agricultural  college  as  a  part 
of  the  university.  The  Agricultural  College  and  the  students  in  it  lived  for  many 
years  in  an  atmosphere  in  which  the  prejudices  of  trustees,  of  faculty,  and  —  most  of 
all  —  of  students  were  directed  against  them.  It  is  not  surprising  that  in  this  situa- 
tion the  trustees  should  lend  themselves  to  a  policy  that  enabled  them  to  build  up 
the  parts  of  the  university  in  which  they  really  believed  and  to  devote  to  agriculture 
a  meagre  remainder.  In  most  states  this  situation  has  undergone  a  transformation 
during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years.  To-day  the  applications  of  science  to  agriculture, 
to  stock  raising,  to  farm  machinery,  have  all  come  to  be  recognized  as  subjects  capa- 
ble of  being  taught  in  a  college.  Agricultural  education,  from  being  neglected,  stands 
now  very  much  in  danger  of  becoming  a  fad,  and  of  suffering  impractical  and  unwise 
exploitation  for  the  next  quarter  of  a  century.  In  many  states  of  the  Union  the  agri- 
cultural college  has  developed  a  close  connection  with  the  industries  of  agriculture, 
and  thereby  has  brought  to  its  support  the  farmers  of  the  state,  so  that  it  wields  not 
only  a  large  political  influence,  but  obtains  thereby  a  generous  state  support.  This 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  171 

has  not  yet  happened  in  Vermont.  It  is  true  that  the  "Aggies'"  are  no  longer  looked 
down  upon  as  they  were,  but  the  resulting  change  has  brought  about  no  difference  of 
policy  as  to  the  spending  of  the  large  fund  received  from  the  general  government. 
The  Agricultural  College  remains  in  the  same  starved  condition  in  which  it  has 
existed  since  its  foundation. 

The  most  practical  and  definite  obligation  of  the  state  at  the  present  time  in  higher 
education  is  to  see  that  a  clear  policy  is  entered  upon  as  to  the  function  of  the  Agri- 
cultural College,  and  that  then,  in  the  second  place,  the  college  shall  be  adequately 
supported. 

Shall  the  function  of  the  Agricultural  College  be  to  train  farm  boys  in  the  tech- 
nique of  their  vocation  in  some  such  way  as  they  are  trained  in  the  agricultural 
school  at  Lyndonville,  or  shall  its  function  be  to  develop  scientific  agriculture  in  Ver- 
mont ?  Either  one  of  these  functions  is  defensible,  but  they  cannot  both  be  carried  on 
simultaneously.  Our  experience  of  fifty  years  in  agricultural  education  goes  to  show 
that  a  trade  school  will  not  grow  in  a  university  atmosphere,  and  that  the  real  func- 
tion of  a  university  college  of  agriculture  is  the  promotion  of  scientific  agriculture 
and  the  maintenance  at  the  same  time  of  right  relations  to  elementary  agricultural 
training-schools.  The  second,  and  in  some  ways  the  greatest,  function  of  a  technical 
college  of  agriculture  is  the  development  of  a  fruitful  and  stimulating  relation  with 
the  farming  industries  of  the  state  in  which  it  stands.  To  be  in  close  touch  with  the 
agricultural  problems  of  the  state,  to  deal  with  these  problems  by  the  best  means 
that  science  affords,  and  to  put  the  fruits  of  these  investigations  by  simple,  direct, 
and  feasible  methods  into  the  hands  of  the  farmers  themselves,  is  the  greatest  func- 
tion that  such  an  agency  can  perform. 

In  order  to  play  this  role,  the  State  Agricultural  College  must  have  adequate  sup- 
port. That  a  state  should  be  receiving  from  the  federal  government  so  large  a  sum, 
and  that  it  should,  under  these  circumstances,  starve  its  Agricultural  College  into 
a  position  where  it  is  neither  an  effective  agency  for  education  nor  for  scientific 
experiment,  is  a  situation  that  ought  to  continue  no  longer.  Whether  it  be  true 
or  not  that  the  legislation  enacted  by  Congress  makes  legal  the  expenditure  of  the 
United  States  grant  in  any  way  the  trustees  may  choose,  it  is  certainly  neither  to 
the  honor  nor  to  the  credit  of  a  state  to  receive  this  generous  grant  of  the  general 
government  and  use  it  for  the  upbuilding  of  miscellaneous  departments  of  instruction 
at  the  expense  of  the  primary  purpose  for  which  the  appropriation  was  made.  By  every 
consideration  of  efficiency  and  of  state  pride  the  commonwealth  should  insist  that  a 
fair  proportion  of  the  United  States  annual  grant  shall  go  into  agricultural  instruc- 
tion, and  it  should  supplement  this  income  by  such  means  as  are  necessary  to  effect 
the  contact  between  the  agricultural  school  and  the  agricultural  industries,  a  cause 
which  is  not  within  the  provisions  of  the  grants  made  by  the  general  government. 

A  word  should  be  added  as  to  the  work  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
and  its  relations  with  the  Agricultural  College. 


172  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  purpose  of  the  Experiment  Station  is  scientific  experimentation  in  agriculture, 
including  all  allied  collateral  industries.  This  is  a  magnificent  endowment  of  agri- 
cultural research.  In  a  small  state  like  Vermont,  thirty  thousand  dollars  a  year  ought 
to  produce  the  most  practical,  important,  and  significant  investigations  of  the  prob- 
lems with  which  the  dairyman,  the  stock-raiser,  and  the  gardener  are  concerned.  It  is 
true  that  work  of  a  high  order  in  agricultural  investigation  has  been  done  at  the 
Vermont  Experiment  Station,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  station,  as  a  research  agency, 
has  been  up  to  this  time  a  small  factor  in  the  improvement  of  agricultural  processes 
and  methods  in  the  state,  and  this  is  due  in  large  measure  to  the  fact  that  it  has 
been  used,  as  far  as  lay  in  the  power  of  the  trustees,  in  the  interests  of  the  college 
and  the  engineering  school.  The  dean  of  the  Agricultural  College  is  the  director  of 
the  Experiment  Station.  He  has  been  loaded  down  with  the  work  of  teaching.  The 
same  thing  may  be  said  of  other  men  on  the  staff.  However  desirable  it  may  be  that 
the  Experiment  Station  and  the  Agricultural  College  should  have  a  real  and  vital 
connection,  it  is  clear  that  the  chief  reason  for  the  existence  of  the  former  institution 
has  been  taken  away  if  its  staff  is  to  be  made  chiefly  a  body  of  teachers.  No  other 
form  of  research  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  ever  been  similarly  endowed.  If  money 
could  promote  investigation  in  proportion  to  the  amount  expended,  research  in 
agriculture  ought  to  exceed  in  efficiency  any  other  field  of  scientific  endeavor.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  however,  only  a  small  proportion  of  these  funds  ever  contributes 
directly  and  efficiently  to  agricultural  investigation.  They  cannot  do  so  when  locked 
up  in  salaries.  Part  of  this  income  should  remain  fluid. 

In  addition  to  giving  to  the  Agricultural  College  an  adequate  support,  it  is  also 
clearly  the  duty  of  the  trustees  to  set  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  free  to 
bend  its  efforts  directly  and  energetically  to  the  investigation  of  those  problems  whose 
solution  means  so  much  to  the  individual  farmer  and  dairyman.  There  is  an  enor- 
mous field  in  Vermont  for  the  Agricultural  College  and  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  but  in  order  that  these  agencies  may  do  their  work,  there  must  be  a  clear 
conception  of  what  that  work  ought  to  be,  a  suitable  organization  for  carrying  it 
out,  and  a  use  of  the  money  now  in  hand  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture  rather  than 
for  the  purposes  of  general  instruction. 

The  College  of  Medicine 

The  College  of  Medicine  of  the  University  of  Vermont  is  one  of  the  old  medical 
schools  of  the  country.  It  began  instruction  in  anatomy  and  surgery  as  early  as  1809, 
and  what  was  considered  in  that  day  a  full  course  of  lectures  was  inaugurated  in 
1822.  By  1836  it  had  graduated  116  doctors  of  medicine,  when,  owing  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  conducting  the  school  in  a  small  place,  it  was  abandoned  until  the  year 
1854,  when  it  was  reestablished  in  an  enlarged  building.  A  better  building  was  pro- 
vided in  1870,  and  a  still  better  one  in  1884.  This  last  was  burned  in  1903,  and  the 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  173 

present  building  was  erected  in  1904-6  at  a  cost  of  $125,000.  This  building,  contain- 
ing the  dissecting-rooms,  laboratories,  and  lecture  halls,  is  admirably  situated,  and 
is  throughout  a  well-lighted,  well-heated,  and  well- ventilated  building,  and  one  excel- 
lently adapted  to  its  purposes.  With  its  equipment  it  is  now  valued  at  $150,000. 

Until  1899  the  relation  of  the  College  of  Medicine  to  the  university  was,  like  that 
of  most  American  medical  colleges,  a  purely  nominal  one.  The  college  was  conducted 
by  a  group  of  physicians,  with  a  nominal  affiliation  with  the  university,  but  practically 
independent  of  its  control.  In  that  year  it  was  made  "a  coordinating  department 
of  the  University  under  the  control  of  the  board  of  trustees,"  but  it  was  really  not 
until  1911  that  the  College  of  Medicine  was,  in  the  language  of  the  catalogue,  "made 
a  part  of  the  University  system."" 

The  medical  school  year  was  lengthened  from  twenty  weeks  to  six  months  in  1895, 
to  seven  months  in  1903,  to  seven  and  a  half  in  1907,  and  to  the  same  length  as  the 
other  university  terms  in  1912. 

The  College  of  Medicine  is  administered  through  a  faculty,  with  a  dean,  in  much 
the  same  manner  as  other  departments  of  the  university.  There  are  at  present  nine 
professors,  who  receive  annual  salaries  of  $15,000  in  all,  the  regular  professor's  salary 
of  $2000  being  paid  to  but  three  men.  In  addition,  there  are  a  number  of  special 
professors,  assistant  professors,  and  instructors,  some  of  these  being  special  lecturers 
brought  from  Boston  and  from  New  York  to  take  up  particular  subjects.  In  all  there 
are  some  forty-four  teachers  on  the  instructing  staff,  twenty-eight  of  whom  are  chosen 
from  the  sixty-one  practising  physicians  in  Burlington. 

The  income  of  the  College  of  Medicine  for  the  year  1912-13  amounted  to 
$34,011.49,  of  which  $20,861.70  came  from  tuitions  and  $10,000  from  state  appro- 
priations, the  remaining  small  amount  being  received  from  laboratory  fees  and  room 
rent.  The  expenditures  consisted  of  $26,928.34  for  teaching  salaries,  $5,397.15  for 
equipment  and  supplies,  and  $1,861.62  for  the  maintenance  of  the  building,  leaving 
a  small  deficit  for  the  year  of  $175.62.  The  state  appropriation  of  $10,000  began  in 
1909  and  has  been  increased  for  the  year  1913  to  $23,500. 

The  expenses  to  the  student  in  attending  the  medical  school  consist  of  a  tuition 
fee  of  $125,  a  $5  matriculation  fee,  and  a  $10  annual  athletic  fee,  besides  $25  at 
graduation,  charges  that  are  comparable  with  those  made  in  similar  medical  schools. 

For  many  years  the  attendance  of  students  upon  the  College  of  Medicine  has  been 
very  large  in  comparison  with  the  facilities  offered.  Ordinarily  there  have  been  be- 
tween 140  and  200  students,  which  is  a  large  number  as  such  medical  schools  go.  The 
singular  fact  has  been  that  there  should  be  so  large  a  school  in  a  somewhat  remote 
town. 

The  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  the 
medical  students  come  from  outside  the  state  of  Vermont.  For  the  year  1912-13  only 
32  per  cent  of  the  students  were  from  Vermont,  the  others  coming  from  New  York 
and  New  England,  and  in  considerable  numbers  from  the  cities  of  Boston  and  New 


174  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

York.  The  reason  for  this  attendance  has  been  that  the  entrance  requirements  have 
been  low  and  that  Burhngton  was  one  of  the  easiest  places  in  New  England  to  obtain 
a  medical  degree.  The  inducement  that  attracted  this  large  group  of  students  was 
not  the  belief  that  they  were  to  obtain  a  superior  medical  education  in  Burlington, 
but  the  knowledge  that  the  medical  degree  was  to  be  won  easily  there. 

The  enti'ance  requirements  for  a  number  of  years  stood  at  14.5  units,  the  equiva- 
lent of  a  high  school  education.  The  entrance  certificates  of  the  144  men  now  in  the 
medical  school  have  all  been  examined  fi'om  year  to  year,  as  they  entered,  by  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Carnegie  Foundation.  Last  autumn  for  the  first  time  the  new  en- 
trance requirements,  demanding  one  year  of  college  work  for  admission,  went  into 
effect.  The  admissions  during  these  four  years  have  been  as  follows : 

55  entered  in  1909 
47  entered  in  1910 
40  entered  in  191 1 
12  entered  in  1912 

The  admissions  to  the  medical  school  were  plainly  decreasing  even  before  the 
higher  entrance  requirements  went  into  effect.  The  reasons  for  this  were  the  gradual 
rise  of  medical  education  throughout  the  whole  country  and  the  growing  appreciation 
of  the  need  for  good  clinical  facilities  in  the  study  of  medicine.  Medical  students  to- 
day go  in  steadily  decreasing  numbers  to  schools  where  the  clinical  facilities  are  poor. 

It  will  be  noted  that  under  the  new  entrance  requirements  only  twelve  students 
were  admitted  in  1912,  omitting  one  who  was  admitted  and  soon  afterward  dropped. 
Of  these  twelve  only  three  were  from  the  state  of  Vermont,  four  were  admitted  from 
other  medical  schools  without  college  training,  while  one  was  a  repeater  turned  back 
from  the  former  class.  In  other  words,  only  by  a  very  liberal  construction  of  the  en- 
trance requirements  was  the  entering  class  as  large  as  twelve.  It  is  clear  that  when 
the  full  entrance  requirement  of  two  years  of  college  work  goes  into  effect,  the  school 
must  accept  an  entering  class  certainly  not  larger  than  ten,  and  that  it  can  scarcely 
hope  to  graduate  each  year  more  than  four  or  five  doctors,  the  majority  of  whom 
will  probably  come  from  outside  of  Vermont.^ 

Those  who  have  studied  the  medical  school  in  detail  have  been  particularly  struck 
with  the  high  order  of  devotion  exhibited  by  the  dean  and  by  the  professors  imme- 
diately associated  with  him.  They  have  put  into  their  work  great  intelligence,  sin- 
cere devotion  to  the  student,  and  a  high  determination  to  give  to  those  who  come  to 
Vermont  to  study  medicine  the  best  education  they  can  furnish.  The  question  of 
the  development  of  a  medical  school  at  the  University  of  Vermont  is,  however,  one  to 
be  settled  entirely  apart  from  the  devotion  of  those  immediately  connected  with  it. 

'  Eif2;hteen  men  are  registered  in  the  entering  class  of  1913,  eight  of  them  from  Vermont.  Eight  had  two  or  more  years 
in  colleKe,  nine  had  one  year  in  college —  two-thirds  of  these  were  conditioned  —  one  entered  from  another  medical 
school. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  175 

Three  questions  ought  fairly  to  be  understood  and  answered  in  determining  the 
retention  and  development  of  the  medical  school:  (1)  Can  a  modern  medical  school 
be  developed  in  Burlington  ?  (2)  How  much  would  such  a  school  cost  conducted  upon 
a  sound  plane  of  medical  teaching?  (3)  Is  the  state  justified  in  spending  the  money 
necessary  to  maintain  such  a  school? 

To  answer  these  questions,  the  situation  at  Vermont  has  been  studied  by  a  number 
of  men  familiar  with  medical  teaching  and  with  the  use  of  clinical  material.  Some  of 
these  have  been  associated  with  the  American  Medical  Association  and  its  Council 
on  Education^  and  others  were  without  any  such  connection. 

The  testimony  of  all  of  these  men  is  that  the  question  of  clinical  material  for 
a  medical  school  at  Burlington  is  a  difficult  one.  In  order  that  a  student  may  learn 
medicine  or  surgery,  he  ought  to  be  brought  into  contact  with  a  large  amount  of  clin- 
ical material,  cases  of  the  ordinary  sort,  the  ordinary  illnesses  that  men  and  women 
have.  These  he  should  see  in  great  number.  They  form  really  his  laboratory  instruc- 
tion. It  is  clear  to  those  who  have  carefully  examined  the  situation  at  Burlington  that 
such  clinical  material  as  exists  has  been  made  the  most  of.  Patients  who  come  to  the 
clinics  are  used  over  and  over  again  to  the  limit  of  their  ability  to  submit  to  such 
studies.  Physicians  in  the  region  are  asked  to  send  patients,  and  frequently  they  do  so. 
Every  effiart  has  been  made  to  bring  together  such  clinical  material  as  could  be  had, 
but  even  under  the  most  optimistic  view,  it  is  clear  that  with  the  greatest  effort  and 
the  most  painstaking  application  the  supply  of  such  material  is  meagre  in  a  city  of 
the  size  of  Burlington  and  the  villages  that  surround  it.  This  scarcity  of  clinical  mate- 
rial is  felt  particularly  in  subjects  like  obstetrics  or  contagious  diseases,  and  it  has 
been  the  practice  for  medical  students  at  Burlington  to  take  during  the  summer,  when 
they  could  afford  it,  a  course  in  some  city,  where  the  opportunities  to  deal  with  ob- 
stetrical cases  and  with  contagious  diseases  were  present.  Looking  at  the  situation 
from  the  most  sympathetic  point  of  view  and  giving  full  credit  to  the  energy  and 
devotion  of  the  faculty,  it  is  evident  that  from  the  standpoint  of  clinical  material 
the  conduct  of  a  medical  school  in  Burlington  will  always  be  a  difficult  matter. 

A  second  serious  difficulty  in  conducting  a  medical  school  in  a  small  city  far  re- 
moved from  centres  of  population  lies  in  the  problem  of  obtaining  good  teachers  in 
clinical  and  surgical  branches.  Under  such  circumstances  the  school  is  almost  sure  to 
draw  its  teachers  from  the  group  of  local  practitioners,  and  although  this  situation 
has  been  appreciated  in  Burlington  and  has  been  helped  out,  so  far  as  possible,  by  the 
importation,  for  short  courses,  of  men  from  New  York  and  Boston,  it  still  remains  true 
that  the  maintenance  of  a  good  medical  school  staff"  in  Burlington  would  be  a  difficult 
and  expensive  thing.  Dr.  Nathaniel  Bowditch  Potter,  Assistant  Professor  of  Clinical 
Medicine  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York,  who  spent  two  days 
in  an  examination  of  the  school,  while  speaking  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  spirit  and 
morale  of  the  faculty,  points  out  this  weakness  in  the  phrase:  "The  teaching  body 

*  The  Council  places  the  Vermont  school  not  in  its  first  (A  +  )  class  of  24  institutions,  but  in  its  second  (A)  class  of  42. 


176  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

is  almost  as  closely  inbred  as  was  the  teaching  force  at  the  Harvard  Medical  School 
when  I  was  a  student  there  in  the  90's."  In  other  words,  on  account  of  the  isolation 
and  the  expense  involved,  there  is  a  strong  tendency  in  such  a  school  to  organize  the 
teaching  staff  out  of  the  local  members  of  the  medical  profession,  a  tendency  which, 
even  with  the  best  intentions,  can  be  overcome  only  by  the  expenditure  of  a  large 
sum  of  money. 

As  to  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  modern  medical  school  under  such  conditions, 
one  can  only  consider  the  minimum  cost  at  which  a  good  teaching  school  could  be 
conducted.  The  expenditures  in  the  maintenance  of  the  school  for  the  last  year  were 
$34,000,  of  which  sum  $20,000  and  more  were  supplied  from  tuitions.  The  amount 
from  tuitions  will  shrink  in  the  next  four  years  to  a  practically  inappreciable  sum, 
and  the  school  must  rely  almost  wholly  for  its  maintenance  either  upon  endowment, 
of  which  it  has  none,  or  upon  state  support.  Furthermore,  $34,000  is  not  sufficient  to 
maintain  the  school  upon  a  right  plane.  Somewhere  between  $50,000  and  $75,000 
will  be  needed  to  conduct  in  Burlington  a  school  upon  a  university  basis  and  capable 
of  giving  a  medical  education  adequate  to  the  demands  of  present-day  teaching.  This 
money  must  come  from  the  state,  if  it  is  to  be  had  at  all,  and  this  means  that  every 
Vermont  student  graduated  would  probably  cost  the  state  from  five  to  ten  thousand 
dollars. 

Is  the  state  justified  in  maintaining  and  developing  a  medical  school  under  such 
conditions  and  in  view  of  the  demands  made  upon  it  in  other  directions  ?  Vermont  is 
surrounded  by  good  medical  schools,  to  which  Vermont  students  who  intend  to  study 
medicine  now  go.  Just  north  of  the  state  is  Montreal,  to  the  east  is  Boston,  to  the 
south  is  New  York, — all  great  medical  centres  and  with  splendidly  developed  mod- 
ern medical  schools.  No  matter  what  the  state  of  Vermont  does  in  the  development 
of  a  school  at  Burlington,  the  bulk  of  Vermont  students  who  want  to  study  medicine 
will  and  ought  to  go  to  other  places,  for  they  can  there  obtain  a  medical  education 
such  as  cannot  possibly  be  given  in  Burlington,  even  when  one  makes  all  allowances 
for  the  intimate  contact  of  teacher  and  student,  for  the  small  numbers,  and  for  the 
personal  attention.  The  state  of  New  Hampshire  and  Dartmouth  College  have  re- 
cently dealt  with  this  question  in  what  would  seem  to  be  a  judicious  way.  Dartmouth 
College,  like  the  University  of  Vermont,  has  for  many  years  conducted  a  school  of 
medicine  that  has  been  subsidized  by  the  state  of  New  Hampshire.  Within  the  pres- 
ent year  it  has  been  decided  to  give  up  the  last  half  of  this  medical  course  and  to 
leave  New  Hampshire  students  free  to  seek  their  clinical  education  where  it  can  be 
had  best.  When  one  considers  the  pressing  need  in  Vermont  for  the  development  of 
elementary  and  secondary  education  and  for  placing  the  pubhc  school  system  under 
a  fruitful  administration,  the  expenditure  of  the  large  sum  of  money  necessary  to 
develop  a  medical  school  under  unfavorable  conditions  is  hard  to  justify. 

One  other  feature  of  the  medical  situation  needs  to  be  referred  to.  Vermont  has 
gone  quite  far  in  recent  years  in  the  effi:)rt  to  deal  with  social  problems,  and  plans 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT  177 

have  been  considered  for  the  treatment  of  the  sick  poor  of  the  state  at  some  place 
to  be  designated.  It  has  been  urged  that,  while  a  medical  school  might  not  be  jus- 
tified upon  the  ground  of  the  small  number  of  Vermont  doctors  who  would  be  edu- 
cated there,  it  might  nevertheless  be  justified  in  connection  with  a  state  hospital  and 
dispensary  for  treating  the  sick  poor  of  the  state,  and  that  these  patients  would,  on 
the  other  hand,  furnish  the  clinical  material  for  student  use. 

This  argument,  however,  does  not  bear  a  close  analysis.  Whether  the  conduct  of 
such  a  free  clinic  for  the  poor  of  all  the  towns  of  Vermont  is  a  wise  thing  or  not  is 
in  itself  a  question  for  consideration,  but  if  such  a  state  clinic  and  hospital  is  to  be 
established,  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  it  could  be  conducted  at  a  cost  which  would  be 
a  mere  bagatelle  in  comparison  with  the  cost  of  conducting  a  medical  school  in  addi- 
tion. Furthermore,  it  is  also  evident  that  the  clinical  material  which  would  be  obtained 
in  this  way  would  have  comparatively  little  significance  in  medical  teaching,  since 
the  patients  would  be  nearly  all  chronic  cases,  not  cases  such  as  the  medical  student 
most  needs  to  see.  The  medical  school  must,  in  fact,  stand  upon  its  own  feet,  and  must 
justify  itself  by  the  contribution  that  it  will  make  to  the  state  of  Vermont  in  the 
training  of  Vermont  physicians.  It  is  in  the  interest  of  the  people  of  Vermont  to  have 
a  reasonable  supply  of  well-trained  physicians ;  it  is  a  matter  of  very  small  concern 
to  them  where  these  physicians  are  trained,  so  long  as  they  are  educated,  high-minded, 
thoroughly  prepared  men.  From  all  available  information  it  does  not  seem  likely  that 
the  abolition  of  the  medical  school  at  Burlington  would  diminish  in  any  respect  the 
supply  of  such  physicians  to  the  state.  The  question,  therefore,  is  one  to  be  deter- 
mined upon  its  own  merits  and  with  full  regard  to  the  other  obligations  in  educa- 
tion which  the  state  has  assumed.  Looked  at  from  this  point  of  view,  it  seems  impos- 
sible to  justify  this  expenditure  of  state  money. 


XII 
MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE 

MiDDLEBURY  CoLLEGE  is  One  of  the  older  institutions  of  what  we  now  call  the  Amer- 
ican college  type.  Chartered  in  1800,  it  was  the  twenty-sixth  institution  of  higher 
education  to  be  established  in  the  LT nited  States.  Its  charter  was  singularly  free  from 
denominational  or  state  requirements,  its  sole  provision  looking  to  state  oversight  be- 
ing that  the  ordinances  of  the  college  shall  "be  laid  before  the  legislature  ...  as  often 
as  required,  and  may  also  be  repealed  or  disallowed  by  the  state  legislature."  Even 
this  legislative  power  has  never  been  exercised.  In  1902  the  legislature  authorized 
the  president  and  fellows  of  Middlebury  College  to  establish  "a  coordinate  institu- 
tion for  the  higher  education  of  women.""  The  growth  of  the  women's  college  has  been 
significant  since  that  date,  the  number  of  women  having  increased  from  53  in  1903  to 
l-iT  in  1913.  Women  students  form  at  present  nearly  one-half  of  the  student  body. 

The  college  is  in  the  village  of  Middlebury,  which  has  a  population  of  about  1800. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  when  the  college  was  organized,  it  had  a  popu- 
lation of  approximately  1300,  considerably  larger  at  that  time  than  the  population 
of  Burlingcton.  The  town  is  on  the  main  line  of  railroad  between  New  York  and  Mon- 
treal,  in  an  attractive  region,  and  is  in  most  respects  the  typical,  somewhat  isolated, 
small  New  England  town. 

The  government  of  the  college  is  vested  in  twenty-one  self-perpetuating  trustees, 
the  alumni,  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  of  the  board  in  1879,  nominating  three 
candidates  for  each  alternate  vacancy.  At  present  all  of  the  trustees  except  four  are 
alumni.  The  board  meets  regularly  at  Commencement  and  in  January.  There  are  few 
special  meetings.  The  prudential  committee,  composed  of  the  Middlebury  members, 
meets  frequently.  The  finance  committee,  consisting  mainly  of  the  New  York  mem- 
bers of  the  board,  meets  upon  call  in  New  York  City.  The  committee  on  instiniction 
spends  about  a  week  at  the  college  each  year  and  presents  reports.  The  board  is  a  rep- 
resentative, active,  and  able  body.  A  bill  for  a  state  board  of  visitors,  similar  to  that 
of  Norwich  University,  passed  the  last  House  of  Representatives,  but  was  withdrawn 
in  the  senate. 

The  administration  of  the  college  under  the  trustees  is  of  the  ordinary  character  of 
the  smaller  colleges.  The  president  supervises  the  general  work  of  the  college,  conducts 
the  correspondence,  approves  expenditures  of  money,  and  forms,  as  in  most  institu- 
tions, the  connection  between  the  college  and  the  general  public.  The  other  officers 
of  administration  consist  of  the  dean,  the  registrar,  the  dean  of  the  women's  college, 
and  a  superintendent  of  buildings  and  grounds.  The  introduction  of  the  women's  col- 
lege would  complicate  the  problem  of  administration  but  for  the  fact  that  the  regis- 
tration is  in  one  place,  the  faculty  is  the  same,  and  instruction  is  in  the  same  classes, 
except  whore  these  are  so  large  that  they  must  be  divided  into  sections. 


MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE  179 

To  the  ample  campus  of  thirty  acres,  given  in  1810,  there  has  since  been  added  the 
women's  campus  of  thirty-five  acres,  and  the  Porter  Athletic  Field  of  eighty  acres, 
presented  in  1912.  The  buildings  of  the  college  are  representative  of  tlie  periods 
at  which  they  were  erected.  Painter  Hall,  a  dormitory,  was  built  in  1814;  the  chapel 
in  1836;  and  Starr  Hall,  a  dormitory,  in  1861.  These  are  all  stone  structures  of 
dignified  architecture.  The  Starr  Library  was  given  in  1900  at  a  cost  of  $50,000; 
the  Warner  Science  Hall  cost  $70,000  in  1901 ;  Pearsons  Hall,  the  women's  dormitory, 
cost  $66,000  in  1911;  and  the  McCuUough  Gymnasium  was  completed  in  June, 
1912,  at  a  cost  of  $51,000.  A  new  and  quite  elaborate  building  for  chemistry,  costing 
$50,000,  is  now  nearing  completion. The  value  of  the  buildings,  grounds,  and  appara- 
tus approximates  $■170,000,  having  been  practically  doubled  in  the  last  six  years 
under  the  energetic  administration  of  the  president  now  in  office.  As  the  buildings 
are  arranged  at  present  they  would,  with  slight  additions,  affiard  accommodations  well 
adapted  to  a  moderate-sized  college  of  from  250  to  300  students.  The  library  needs 
additional  reading  room. 

The  endowment,  which  had  been  a  little  over  $400,000,  had  no  appreciable  growth 
until  within  six  years,  during  which  it  has  been  increased  to  a  productive  endow- 
ment of  $540,000.  An  additional  $500,000  is  now  being  sought. 

The  financial  resources  of  the  institution,  therefore,  represent  at  the  present  time 
approximately  $1,000,000.  Of  this  $380,000  has  been  added  during  President 
Thomas's  administration,  among  the  largest  contributors  being  the  General  Educa- 
tion Board,  which  gave  one-fourth  of  $200,000,  and  Dr.  D.  K.  Pearsons,  who  gave  one- 
fourth  of  $100,000. 

The  income  of  the  college  for  the  year  1912-13  amounted  to  a  little  over  $70,000, 
as  compared  with  $31,000  five  years  ago,  a  result  again  due  in  the  main  to  the  en- 
ergy of  the  new  president.  Of  the  income  for  the  year  1912-13,  $27,427  came  from 
student  fees,  a  result  showing  an  enormous  gain  in  six  years.  In  1902-3  the  income 
from  student  fees  was  approximately  $2500;  in  1908  this  income  was  $5700.  This 
great  increase  means  that  many  more  students  now  pay  their  tuition.  For  many  years 
before  the  advent  of  President  Thomas,  practically  any  student  who  desired  and  asked 
for  it  obtained  free  tuition,  a  result  demoralizing  alike  to  the  college  and  to  the 
student.  The  remainder  of  the  income  is  made  up  as  follows :  from  interest  on  en- 
dowment, $27,705.78;  state  appropriation,  $16,250;  small  gifts  for  current  expenses, 
some  $380,  —  in  all,  as  stated  before,  an  income  for  the  current  year  amounting  to 
$71,763.32,  a  sum  that  has  been  more  than  doubled  in  six  years,  the  sources  of 
increase  being  better  collection  of  student  fees,  an  increase  in  the  endowment,  and  a 
very  large  increase  in  the  state  appropriation. 

The  expenditures  for  the  year  1912-13  were  as  follows: 

Salaries  $49,769.15 

Departmental  appropriations  2,532.19 


180  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

Library  supplies,  etc.  $1,672.66 

Miscellaneous  expenses,  including  heat,  light,  and  repairs  20,898.61 

The  State  appropriation  was  expended  as  follows: 

Scholarships  $2,400.00 

Salaries  in  pedagogy,  home  economics,  geology,  forestry,  and  zoology  8,814.00 

Departmental  courses  ^  2,000.00 

Summer  School  1,478.63 

Equipment,  repairs,  and  maintenance  549.82 

Supplies-  1,007.55 

$16,250.00 

The  appropriation  of  $2400  referred  to  above  provides  for  thirty  state  scholar- 
ships at  $80  each  on  account  of  tuition.  These  scholarships  are  awarded  entirely  by 
members  of  the  state  senate.  Under  the  Act  of  1912  thirty  similar  scholarships  are 
available  for  the  year  1913-14,  also  awarded  by  senators.  In  addition,  during  this  year 
the  college  awarded  scholarships  amounting  to  $4790,  making  a  total  scholarship 
award  of  $7190.  Of  this  total  $5460  was  given  to  men  and  $1730  to  women.  No 
scholarship  is  competitive;  those  awarded  by  the  college  are  based  partly  on  finan- 
cial need.  President  Thomas  has  recommended  that  all  state  scholarships  be  awarded 
by  examination  of  high  school  graduates,  the  student  to  have  a  choice  as  to  which 
institution  he  will  attend. 

The  cost  of  student  life  at  Middlebury  College  is  extremely  moderate.  Tuition 
is  $80  a  year,  the  incidental  fees  are  $12,  and  a  room  is  $40;  board  can  be  had  for 
$129.50,  and  the  laboratory  fees  amount  to  about  $12 — a  total  of  $273.50.  For 
women  the  expenses  are  somewhat  larger  on  account  of  the  higher  cost  of  board, 
the  minimum  total  expense  in  the  case  of  women  amounting  to  $304.  The  difference 
in  the  expense  to  women  is  not  intended  as  a  discrimination  against  them,  but  re- 
sults from  the  superiority  of  their  dormitoi-y  accommodations,  which  is  well  worth 
the  difference  in  cost.  The  college  authorities,  however,  do  favor  the  men  in  the  matter 
of  scholarships,  since  there  is  some  apprehension  lest  the  institution  become  increas- 
ingly a  women''s  college,  a  tendency  that  is  already  manifest,  and  which  is  likely  to 
be  increased  by  the  development  of  the  department  for  the  training  of  teachers, 
which  attracts  many  more  women  than  men. 

The  instructing  staff  numbers  twenty-eight,  including  the  president.  Salaries  are 
extremely  moderate,  the  maximum  salary  of  a  professor  being  at  present  $2000, 
assistant  professors  receiving  from  .$1300  to  $1700,  and  instructors  from  $900  to 
$1000.  Notwithstanding  the  simplicity  of  life  in  a  small  village,  the  expense  of  living 
is  nevertheless  large,  outside  of  rent,  and  these  salaries  represent  a  really  meagre  re- 

•  English,  French,  German,  Greek,  History,  and  Latin. 

'  Forestry,  Geology,  Home  Economics,  Pedagogry,  and  Zoology. 


MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE  181 

turn,  particularly  when  one  takes  into  account  the  isolation  that  a  teacher  accepts  in 
living  in  a  small  village,  removed  not  only  from  the  companionship  of  other  scholars, 
but  from  the  facilities  of  libraries  and  literary  and  scientific  societies.  In  spite  of  this 
fact,  however,  the  twenty-eight  members  of  the  staff  are  men  of  excellent  training 
in  good  institutions.  Fourteen  of  the  degrees  held  by  the  group  are  from  Middle- 
bury,  eleven  from  Harvard,  seven  from  Yale,  five  from  the  University  of  Vermont, 
and  four  from  Wesleyan. 

The  instruction  offered  by  this  staff  of  teachers  consists  of  172  courses,  announced 
in  the  catalogue  for  1912-13,  of  which,  however,  only  123  were  given.  The  curriculum 
includes  sound  courses  in  the  ordinary  college  studies  in  science  and  in  arts.  These  fun- 
damental courses,  however,  which  form  the  backbone  of  college  work,  whether  one  turns 
toward  the  classical  or  toward  the  scientific  form  of  education,  are  somewhat  overlaid 
by  a  series  of  elective  groups  for  prospective  students  of  agriculture,  education,  en- 
gineering, journalism,  law,  medicine,  and  the  industries.  The  attitude  of  the  college 
in  this  matter  has  been  too  expansive  for  thorough  work.  For  example,  in  1911-12 
agriculture,  practical  and  commercial  pomology,  and  economic  entomology  were  all 
offered  by  one  instructor.  In  1912-13  forestry  was  offered  by  a  professor  who  an- 
nounced six  other  courses.  Industrial,  sanitary,  and  agricultural  chemistry  was  offered 
by  an  instinictor  who  announced  three  other  courses.  A  half-year  course  in  engineering, 
including  materials,  highway  construction,  elementary  hydraulics,  sanitary  engineer- 
ing, sanitary  science,  and  public  health,  was  offered  by  an  assistant  professor  who  gave 
four  other  courses.  These  excursions  into  agriculture  and  engineering  seem  indefensible 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  well-planned  college.  It  may  be  entirely  desirable  to  include 
in  the  college  courses  sound  study  relating  to  agriculture,  but  that  does  not  justify  the 
announcement  of  practical  agricultural  work.  It  may  be  desirable  to  teach  surveying 
to  a  small  class  of  students,  but  the  insertion  of  that  study  does  not  justify  the  an- 
nouncement of  a  department  of  engineering  and  the  solicitation  of  students  for  such  a 
department.  No  one  would  desire  to  confine  the  American  college  to  a  hard-and-fast 
curriculum,  but  it  is  also  perfectly  clear  that  when  the  college  undertakes  to  extend 
its  activities  to  applied  sciences  like  agriculture  and  engineering,  or  to  give  specific 
preparation  for  professions  like  journalism  and  law  and  medicine,  it  is  compelled  to  do 
one  of  two  things :  either  to  make  its  instruction  superficial  throughout,  or  else  to 
obtain  a  far  larger  sum  of  money  for  support  than  would  be  necessary  for  the  legit- 
imate work  of  the  college.  Practical  agriculture  and  engineering  would  in  the  end  be 
a  burden  to  the  college,  if  fully  developed,  and  they  are  of  little  value  when  superfi- 
cially done.  The  inauguration  in  Middlebury  in  1911-12  of  the  Department  of  En- 
gineering, in  competition  with  the  staff  and  adequate  resources  provided  in  that  field 
by  the  University  of  Vermont,  and  the  attempt  to  develop  a  department  of  practical 
agriculture  in  competition  with  the  well-equipped  State  Agricultural  College  seem 
unwise  departures  from  the  true  field  of  the  college.  The  college  has  no  engineering 
equipment  except  surveying  instruments,  and  the  offering  of  a  freshman  and  sopho- 


182  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

more  curriculum  in  engineering  by  a  single  assistant  professor,  himself  a  graduate 
in  1907  of  an  engineering  school,  is  misleading  to  the  student.  The  preliminary 
mathematics,  chemistry,  physics,  and  mechanics  of  an  engineering  course  can  be 
learned  at  the  college,  but  to  announce  what  seems  to  be  an  engineering  course  is 
a  mistake. 

The  Department  of  Pedagogy  at  Middlebury  was  established  in  1908  by  the  legis- 
lature with  an  annual  appropriation  of  $6000,  which  was  increased  in  1912  to  $10,400. 
The  head  of  the  department  was  the  former  principal  of  the  Johnson  Normal  School, 
and  his  immediate  colleague  in  the  conduct  of  the  department  was  formerly  a  high 
school  principal  and  teacher  at  the  Castleton  Normal  School.  The  department  has 
good  rooms  and  a  special  library,  which  it  is  planned  to  make  available  for  teachers. 
Some  use  has  been  made  of  the  local  schools  for  practice-teaching,  but  this  feature  of 
the  development  is  as  yet  in  a  rudimentary  stage.  The  work,  however,  is  being  prose- 
cuted with  vigor.  \Vhat  effect  this  new  development  will  have  upon  the  college  it  is 
not  possible  at  this  time  to  foresee.  It  may  well  be  that  the  Department  of  Pedagogy 
will  in  time  transform  the  college  into  something  that  may  resemble  a  professional 
school,  largely  for  women. 

It  is  not  easv  to  define  just  what  constitutes  an  American  college,  any  more  than  it 
is  to  express  clearly  what  constitutes  an  elementary  school  or  a  secondary  school,  but 
it  will  be  generally  agreed  that  the  American  college  stands  for  a  general  training  in 
those  fundamental  studies  that  are  intended  to  arouse  the  intellectual  and  spiritual 
qualities,  to  teach  the  student  to  think,  to  help  to  introduce  him  to  his  duties  as 
a  man  and  as  a  citizen,  and  to  lead  him  into  general  cultural  relations.  It  is  not  pri- 
marily a  vocational  school.  On  the  contrary,  its  main  purpose  is  to  orient  the  student 
with  respect  to  intellectual,  moral,  and  social  forces,  so  that  whatever  vocation  he  may 
adopt,  he  may  play  a  man's  part. 

It  has  been  the  case  hitherto  that  when  a  technical,  professional  school  has  been 
yoked  up  with  a  college,  that  the  technical  school  has  generally  run  away  with  the  col- 
lege; and  the  reason  for  this  is  not  far  to  seek,  because  the  technical  student  comes 
in  the  professional  spirit.  The  student  of  pedagogy  or  of  law  or  of  engineering  has 
his  eyes  on  the  method  by  which  he  is  to  make  a  living.  This  attitude  of  mind  is  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  college  student,  and  it  ought  not  to  be  a  bad  thing  to  have 
such  groups  associate  together,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  usually  has  happened  that 
they  do  not  coalesce,  even  when  they  are  in  the  same  institution.  Whether,  therefore, 
the  institution  of  the  Department  of  Pedagogy  in  the  college  will  turn  out  to  be  pri- 
marily for  the  benefit  of  the  development  of  Middlebury  as  a  college  is  a  question  well 
worth  consideration  by  the  trustees  and  the  officers  of  the  institution. 

Nothing  more  clearly  indicates  the  attitude  of  an  institution  toward  education  than 
the  method  of  enforcement  of  the  entrance  requirements  that  it  may  adopt,  and  ex- 
perience shows  that  it  is  not  necessarily  the  amount  or  difficulty  of  the  entrance  re- 
quirements that  constitutes  the  difference  in  institutions,  but  rather  the  discrimina- 


MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE  183 

tion  and  sincerity  with  which  the  adopted  requirements  are  administered.  The  very 
purpose  of  fixed  entrance  requirements  for  college  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  funda- 
mental itlea  in  the  constitution  of  the  American  college  is  to  bring  together  a  fairly 
homogeneous  group  of  students,  whose  intellectual  attainment  is  at  least  compara- 
ble. Only  when  the  student  group  is  approximately  homogeneous  in  intellectual  fit- 
ness can  it  be  taught  advantageously.  Wherever  there  is  a  marked  difference  between 
the  preparation  of  students,  the  efficiency  of  the  instruction  for  the  whole  group  is 
impaired. 

In  the  enforcement  of  its  entrance  requirements  during  the  past  few  years  Middle- 
bury  College  has  shown  a  certain  degree  of  laxity.  The  entrance  requirements  for  the 
arts  course  have  been  for  a  number  of  years  fourteen  units,  intended  to  secure  the 
previous  completion  of  a  four-year  high  school  course;  for  the  Latin-scientific  course 
the  admission  requirements  were  about  a  half-year  less  until  1908,  when  these  require- 
ments were  also  advanced  to  fourteen  units.  In  1909,  93  students  were  admitted,  the 
admissions  including  a  number  of  students  carrying  heavy  conditions  and  the  approval 
of  certificates  that  were  of  doubtful  value.  In  1910,  a  number  of  admissions  were  also 
of  doubtful  character  and  included  the  acceptance  of  students  in  cases  where  the  head- 
masters of  the  schools  from  which  they  came  considered  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
their  work  unfit  for  college  entrance;  expressing  this  in  phrases  like  the  following: 
"  Has  credit  for  only  three  years  of  high  school  work."  "  I  cannot  conscientiously  rec- 
ommend him."  "This  school  does  not  wish  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  kind  of  work 
that  she  may  do."  In  191 1, 120  students  were  admitted.  Their  certificates,  all  of  which 
were  examined  at  the  time  by  the  Foundation,  showed  a  great  improvement  in  char- 
acter and  quality.  The  1912  admissions,  on  the  other  hand,  showed  a  considerable  re- 
laxation as  compared  with  those  of  1911.  Briefly  stated,  the  examination  of  the  en- 
trance certificates  of  298  students  entering  during  the  four  years  indicates  that  the 
students  have  been  very  leniently  admitted  and  upon  the  ground  of  a  standard  far  less 
strongly  administered  than  that  of  the  University  of  Vermont  or  even  than  that  of 
Norwich  University.  Students  have  been  entered  when  their  lack  of  preparation  has 
not  only  hampered  them,  but  has  also  lowered  the  tone  of  instruction  in  the  college.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  college  would  to-day  be  improved  by  the  dropping  of 
a  considerable  number  of  students  who  were  not  ready  to  enter  and  whose  presence 
affects  the  whole  quality  of  instruction.^  In  the  records  of  students  coming  from  the 
secondary  schools,  it  is  notewoi-thy  that  the  Middlebury  College  authorities  report 
that  in  the  last  five  years  six  of  their  best  students  and  sixteen  of  their  poorest  stu- 
dents have  come  from  the  Middlebury  school,  a  situation  that  reflects,  of  course,  the 
temptation  to  admit  local  students  who  are  unprepared. 


*  Middlebury  College  has  recently  decided  to  adopt  the  standards  of  the  New  England  College  Entrance  Certificate 
Board,  admitting  students  only  with  its  certificates,  or  by  examination,— a  policy  that  will  unquestionably  result 
in  a  better  prepared  student  body  and  a  wholesome  influence  on  the  secondary  schools. 


184.  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  following  table  gives  a  record  of  attendance  : 


1902-S 

1907-8 

1912-13^ 

Men 

Qo 

119 

173 

Increase 

84% 

45% 

Women 

53 

84 

147 

Increase 

58% 

75% 

Total 

118 

203 

320 

Increase 

72% 

57% 

Fi-om  Vermont 

61 

134. 

153 

Proportion 

51% 

66% 

47% 

The  growth  in  student  attendance  in  the  college  has  been  marked  in  the  last  six 
years.  This  is  particularly  true  in  the  number  of  women  students.  Women  were  first 
admitted  to  the  college  in  1883,  and  since  their  separate  college  charter  was  obtained 
in  1902,  in  spite  of  larger  fees,  fewer  scholarships,  and  fewer  specialized  courses,  they 
have  increased  more  rapidly  than  the  men.  In  the  five  years  between  1907—8  and 
1912-13  the  number  of  women  students  increased  from  84  to  147,  or  75  per  cent ; 
while  during  the  same  period  the  number  of  men  increased  from  119  to  173,  or  only 
45  per  cent. 

The  interesting  fact  concerning  the  student  body  is  that  less  than  half  of  the  stu- 
dents in  1912-13  (34  per  cent  of  the  men  and  63  per  cent  of  the  women)  were  from 
Vermont.  It  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  the  registration  in  science  and  in  peda- 
gogy is  increasing  more  rapidly  than  that  in  arts. 

Considering  Middlebury  College  from  the  standpoint  of  its  educational  opportu- 
nities, therefore,  it  seems  clear  that  the  opportunity  that  lies  before  the  college  is  to  do 
well  the  work  of  a  college  and  to  attempt  nothing  more.  It  is  situated  in  a  small  town. 
Whatever  the  student  obtains  in  the  way  of  cultural  and  intellectual  training  must 
be  furnished  by  the  college.  Its  sole  appeal  to  men  and  women  must  lie  in  the  oppor- 
tunity it  gives  for  an  isolated  but  intensive  college  life.  Institutions  of  this  type 
are  of  the  greatest  value.  They  have  brought  into  our  American  life  many  of  our  best 
men  and  women ;  their  opportunity  to  train  such  men  and  women  lies  almost  entirely 
in  making  their  college  training  wholesome,  thorough,  and  sincere. 

During  the  last  six  or  eight  years  the  college  has  expanded  both  in  numbers  and 
in  the  field  that  it  attempts  to  cover.  Both  expansions  have  been  at  the  expense  of 
a  certain  amount  of  true  educational  thoroughness.  Loosely  administered  entrance 
requirements  have  added  to  the  number  of  students.  The  excursion  into  various  col- 
lateral fields  having  bearing  upon  industrial  or  scientific  subjects  has  apparently  en- 
riched the  course  of  study,  but  has  added  little  to  the  real  value  of  the  college.  The 
true  opportunity  of  such  a  college  lies  in  doing  the  work  of  a  college  only.  To  make 
the  institution  more  fruitful,  there  is  necessary  not  so  much  the  teaching  of  additional 

'  These  totals  do  not  include  ten  graduate  students. 


MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE  185 

subjects  as  the  possession  of  an  income  sufficient  to  pay  the  highest  class  of  college 
teacher  to  do  the  fundamental  work  well.  This  fundamental  work  is  now  being  admira- 
bly done,  in  most  cases,  by  the  existing  college  staff,  which,  however,  is  overworked  in 
the  effort  to  cover  too  large  a  field.  Meanwhile,  the  college  faces  a  growing  tendency 
to  become  a  women's  college,  a  tendency  greatly  accentuated  by  the  inauguration  of 
the  department  of  pedagogy,  the  candidates  for  which  are  almost  entirely  women.  The 
number  of  boys  from  Vermont  does  not  greatly  increase,  in  spite  of  the  effort  to  attract 
them.  The  inducement,  in  fact,  for  young  men  to  go  to  the  college  becomes  less  as  the 
proportion  of  women  students  increases.  While,  therefore,  the  work  of  the  college  is 
distinctly  good,  and  while  the  opportunity  to  maintain  a  good  American  college  will 
always  remain,  there  are  before  the  trustees  and  officers  of  the  institution  serious 
problems  to  consider;  they  must  deal  with  influences  that  may  within  the  next  ten 
or  twenty  years  materially  change  the  character  of  the  college. 

The  direct  concern  of  the  state  of  Vermont  with  Middlebury  lies,  however,  in  the 
work  that  the  state  has  subsidized  the  college  to  do.  It  seems  perfectly  clear  that  no 
state  ought  to  subsidize  a  college  like  Middlebury,  no  matter  how  good  an  institution 
it  may  be,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to  carry  on  its  general  work,  unless  the 
institution  is  owned  and  controlled  by  the  state.  The  question,  however,  that  is  pre- 
sented in  the  subsidizing  of  Middlebury  is  this :  Is  it  wise  for  the  state  to  subsidize 
a  college  like  Middlebury  to  enable  it  to  perform  for  the  state  a  distinctive  service, 
the  training  of  teachers  for  the  secondary  schools?  Only  upon  the  ground  of  this 
distinctive  service  could  such  a  use  of  public  money  be  defended  at  all.  The  ques- 
tion is  whether  there  is  an  urgent  need  for  such  an  agency,  and  whether  Middlebury 
College  can  effectively  perform  that  work  for  the  state. 

The  need  of  a  subsidized  agency  for  the  training  of  teachers  of  the  secondary 
schools  of  Vermont  does  not  seem,  on  careful  examination,  at  all  pressing.  There  are 
in  all  the  high  schools  of  Vermont  fewer  than  300  secondary  school  teachers.  To  re- 
ci-uit  the  annual  vacancies  in  this  corps  does  not  need  a  very  large  number  of  teach- 
ers, and  the  testimony  that  has  been  brought  together  concerning  the  appointment  of 
teachers  shows  that  the  state  has  applications  from  many  more  secondary  school  teach- 
ers than  it  has  places  to  fill.  These  teachers  come  from  various  colleges  and  normal 
schools, — from  Middlebury,  from  the  University  of  Vermont,  from  Dartmouth,  and 
from  several  Massachusetts  colleges.  They  are  in  the  main  college  graduates,  some- 
times with  special  training  for  teaching,  usually  without;  but  there  seems  to  be  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  many  more  fairly  well-qualified  teachers  for  the  secondary 
schools  than  there  are  places  to  fill.  Taking  into  consideration  the  many  sources  of 
supply  for  secondary  school  teachers  and  the  urgent  needs  of  the  state  in  elementaiy 
education,  the  subsidy  to  Middlebury  College  does  not  seem  defensible. 

Another  feature  of  this  situation  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  without  the  most 
careful  consideration.  Middlebury  College,  although  subject  in  a  remote  way  to  state 
control,  is  practically  governed  by  its  own  board  of  trustees.  It  can  be  assumed  safely 


186  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

that  any  department  for  the  training  of  secondary  school  teachers  that  has  back  of 
it  a  state  subsidy  will  in  the  long  i"un  acquire  such  prestige  and  influence  that  its  grad- 
uates will  be  in  command  of  the  secondary  schools  of  the  state.  The  history  of  all  such 
college  movements  goes  to  show  that  the  college  graduate  devotes  his  loyalty  to  the 
college  rather  than  to  the  state,  and  that  he  will  be  guided  in  his  educational  poHcy  by 
his  allegiance  to  the  college.  In  the  long  run,  under  this  arrangement,  Middlebury  Col- 
lege would  acquire  a  commanding  influence  in  the  whole  determination  of  the  edu- 
cational system  of  the  state.  As  a  question  of  public  policy,  it  seems  extremely  doubt- 
ful whether  any  state  ought  to  entrust  such  power  to  any  institution  that  it  does  not 
own  and  control. 


XIII 
NORWICH  UNIVERSITY 

Norwich  University  was  founded  at  Norwich,  Vermont,  in  1819  by  a  former  super- 
intendent of  West  Point.  It  received  its  charter  as  Norwich  University  in  1834. 
The  adoption  of  the  name  "university"  was  an  unfortunate  event  in  the  history  of 
the  institution.  It  has  never  been  a  university  nor  can  it  ever  be  such,  and  during 
the  whole  of  its  history  it  has  labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  doing  a  work  in 
education  wholly  out  of  relation  to  the  name  under  which  it  has  lived. 

In  1866  the  buildings  at  Norwich  were  burned  and  the  institution  was  removed  to 
Northfield,  which  offered  grounds  and  barracks.  The  village  of  Northfield  is  in  almost 
the  exact  centre  of  the  state,  with  a  population  of  a  little  less  than  two  thousand.  It 
lies  directly  in  the  hills,  the  school  standing  on  the  level  top  of  one  of  these  hills  on 
the  edge  of  the  village.  There  are  in  the  village  no  advantages  for  students  outside  of 
those  that  the  college  itself  offers. 

Norwich  University  is  governed  by  a  self-perpetuating  board  of  thirty  trustees  and 
the  president  ex  officio^  all  being  elected  for  terms  of  five  years.  Five  of  the  thirty 
ti*ustees  are  nominated  by  the  alumni.  Of  the  present  board  ten  are  from  North- 
field,  eight  others  from  Vermont,  four  from  New  York,  three  from  Massachusetts,  and 
one  each  from  California,  Connecticut,  Iowa,  and  New  Hampshire.  There  is  now  one 
vacancy.  Sixteen  of  the  thirty  are  alumni.  The  trustees  have  a  Commencement  meet- 
ing that  is  well  attended,  and  one  other  meeting  in  Northfield  during  the  year.  Be- 
sides these,  two  or  three  other  meetings  are  held,  ordinarily  at  Northfield.  These  are 
attended  by  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  board,  and  naturally  in  these  meetings 
the  Northfield  members  compose  a  large  proportion  of  those  present.  The  executive 
and  finance  committees,  composed  in  the  main  of  the  local  members,  meet  at  the 
president's  call.  The  management  of  the  institution  is  quite  strongly  local. 

Two  of  the  state  visitors  usually  attend  Commencement  for  a  day  or  two  and  make 
some  inspection  of  the  books.  No  record,  however,  of  the  reports  made  to  the  legis- 
lature by  these  visitors  can  be  found,  although  the  president  of  the  university  states 
that,  according  to  his  best  belief,  such  reports  have  been  made.  The  law  of  1912, 
which  adds  the  state  superintendent  of  education  and  the  state  auditor  to  the  visitors' 
committee,  and  requires  them  to  report  upon  the  expenditure  of  state  money,  should 
result  in  regular  reports. 

The  organization  of  the  institution  is  simple,  but  adequate.  The  president  con- 
ducts the  general  affairs  of  the  institution,  including  the  care  of  legislation,  which  is 
an  important  part  of  his  duties.  The  dean  attends  to  admissions,  promotions,  and 
graduation.  The  commandant,  detailed  from  the  United  States  Ai-my,  is  in  charge  of 
discipline  and  military  instruction.  The  institution  has  been  fortunate  in  the  last  three 
years  in  having  as  commandant  Captain  Tompkins,   whose  detail  is  just  closing. 


188  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

and  who  has  given  a  most  devoted  and  effective  service  in  the  military  department. 
In  the  school  administration  there  are  ten  faculty  committees,  some  active,  others  less 
so.  The  professor  of  English  has  in  charge  the  solicitation  of  students  much  after  the 
manner  of  preparatory  schools,  by  circulars,  by  correspondence,  and  by  visiting  school 
principals,  individuals,  and  promising  candidates.  The  problem  of  bringing  students 
into  the  institution  is  one  of  the  most  serious  and  difficult  duties,  for  reasons  that  will 
appear  as  the  general  description  of  the  school  proceeds. 

In  order  to  judge  fairly  the  equipment  of  the  school,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  institution  is  not  a  university  in  any  sense.  It  is  really  a  modest  engineering  school 
with  a  very  strong  military  element,  so  strong,  in  fact,  that  the  military  features  color 
all  the  school  work.  The  afternoons  are  wholly  devoted  to  military  duties  and  to  mili- 
tary instruction  instead  of  being  given,  as  in  most  institutions,  to  laboratory  and 
library  work.  The  equipment,  therefore,  that  the  institution  has  for  its  work  is  simply 
the  equipment  of  an  engineering  school. 

The  buildings  consist  of  Dodge  Hall,  the  gift  of  General  Dodge,  costing  $10,000, 
which  houses  the  chemical  laboratories  and  certain  rooms  for  drawing  and  recitations; 
Dewey  Hall,  costing  $22,500,  given  by  general  subscription,  providing  a  chapel,  ad- 
ministration offices,  and  a  small  museum;  Carnegie  Hall,  costing  $37,500,  providing 
a  rather  unsatisfactory  library  and  modest  quarters  for  electricity  and  physics.  A 
heating  plant,  costing  $12,500,  was  erected  in  1905.  In  1909  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment erected  a  weather  bureau  building  immediately  adjoining  the  grounds  at  a 
cost  of  $15,000.  The  drill  hall  and  stables  are  inadequate  wooden  buildings.  The  en- 
tire cost  of  these  buildings,  exclusive  of  that  of  the  government,  amounts  approxi- 
mately to  $85,000.  In  addition  to  the  buildings  used  for  instruction  and  laboratories 
are  two  halls  whose  cost  was  $75,000,  and  which  together  are  able  to  house  215  cadets, 
or  half  as  many  more  as  are  in  attendance. 

The  laboratories  as  well  as  the  equipment  for  the  teaching  of  the  sciences  them- 
selves are  meagre.  There  is  a  sufficient  number  of  surveying  instruments  and  an  ex- 
tremely modest  equipment  for  physics  and  for  chemistry.  The  military  equipment  is 
provided  by  the  federal  and  state  governments.  Of  the  14,700  books  only  a  small 
fraction  are  useful.  Apparently  but  little  use  is  made  of  the  library  except  for  maga- 
zine reading. 

The  endowment  of  the  institution  at  the  present  time  amounts  to  $114,800,  and 
the  entire  value  of  the  plant,  including  grounds,  buildings,  and  equipment,  would  per- 
haps amount  to  scarcely  $300,000. 

The  current  income  of  the  year  1912-13  is  estimated  at  approximately  $48,000, 
made  up  as  follows: 

From  students  $22,000 

Income  on  endowment  .5,500 

State  appropriation  15,500 

Other  sources  5,000 


NORWICH  UNIVERSITY  189 

The  item  of  $5000  conies  from  the  sum  paid  by  the  Adjutant-General  of  the 
state  of  Vermont  on  legal  authority  for  the  military  service  of  cadets.  This  sum  by 
the  action  of  the  cadets  themselves  is  returned  to  the  institution.  The  extraordinary 
situation  is  here  presented  of  the  state  of  Vermont  enrolling  in  its  military  service 
natives  of  other  states  and  subsidizing  them  to  come  to  the  institution. 

The  expenditures  of  the  institution  for  the  same  period  are  estimated  as  follows : 

Instruction  $17,500 

Administration  12,500 

Current  expenses  8,100 

Library,  including  books  and  service  1,420 

Miscellaneous  expenditures  7,540 

Total  $47,060 

Under  the  law  as  now  framed,  120  state  scholarships  were  available  in  the  year 
1912-13.  Fifty-five  of  these,  amounting  to  $3850,  were  assigned  by  senators.  These 
fifty-five  constitute  88  per  cent  of  the  total  of  62  students  from  Vermont  in  the  year 
1912-13.  The  remaining  state  scholarships,  assignable  by  the  president,  were  not 
used.  There  are  nearly  twice  as  many  state  scholarships  as  there  are  students  from 
the  state. 

There  were  also  assigned  to  students  not  from  Vermont  44  university  scholarships, 
amounting  to  $1600,  and  one  special  scholarship,  amounting  to  $50, — a  total  of 
$1650.  In  all,  therefore,  there  was  an  expenditure  for  scholarships  amounting  to 
$5500;  or  68  per  cent  of  the  147  students  in  attendance  were  in  receipt  of  scholar- 
ship aid. 

The  cost  of  education  to  the  student  is  extremely  moderate,  ranging  from  $300  to 
$450  a  year.  The  authorities  report  that  more  than  $500  is  seldom  spent  by  a  single 
student.  Compared  to  a  city  college,  the  cost  is  slight,  although  it  will  hardly  be 
considered  cheap  in  comparison  with  what  the  student  gets.  Less  than  one-third, 
however,  of  the  students  in  1912-13  came  without  some  financial  aid. 

The  instructing  staff  consists  of  ten  professors,  three  assistant  professors,  and 
one  instructor.  The  professor  of  military  science  and  tactics  and  the  professor  of 
meteorology,  who  is  the  local  forecaster  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  are  salaried  officials 
of  the  government.  The  average  salary  of  a  professor  is  $1350,  and  of  an  assistant 
professor,  $1100.  Considerable  increases  in  salary  are  planned  from  the  increase  in 
the  state  appropriation  for  1913-14.  The  salaries  at  present  are  extremely  low,  even 
taking  into  account  the  scale  of  living  which  is  common  in  the  village  of  Northfield. 
Partly  for  this  reason  the  members  of  the  faculty  have  been  drawn  in  considerable 
measure  from  graduates  of  the  institution  itself.  Under  such  conditions  the  difficulty 
of  getting  competent  men  must  be  very  great.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  arrangement 
made  with  the  professor  of  electrical  engineering,  whose  time  is  divided  between 
Dai'tmouth  College  and  Norwich  University,  giving  three  days  a  week  in  each  place. 


190  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  curriculum  offered  in  Norwich  University  is  that  of  a  somewhat  meagre  en- 
gineering course,  which  in  large  measure  must  be  theoretical,  in  view  of  the  lack  of 
equipment,  the  limited  number  of  instructors,  and  the  large  amount  of  the  students' 
time  devoted  to  military  duties.  The  instructing  staff,  which,  excluding  the  presi- 
dent, numbers  fourteen,  announces  121  semester  courses  in  addition  to  sunnner  schools 
and  thesis  supervision.  Sixteen  of  these  courses  were  not  given  in  1912-13,  and  all 
but  one  of  the  remaining  105  were  given  by  1 1  persons,  an  average  of  about  10  courses 
a  year,  or  5  at  one  time.  One  professor  gave  17,  one  15,  and  two  12  each.  In  general, 
the  amount  of  work  announced  is  excessive  for  the  size  of  the  staff,  and  some  of  the 
assignments  would  seem  impossible.  For  example,  the  single  professor  who  conducts 
17  courses  a  year  is  responsible  for  all  of  the  instruction  in  the  English  language,  com- 
position, and  literature,  the  EngHsh  Bible  and  Oriental  classics,  economics,  law,  psy- 
cliology,  logic,  and  ethics.  In  the  catalogue  20  courses  in  chemistry  are  announced, 
all  of  which  must  be  given  by  one  professor,  who  also  has  other  work,  and  one  in- 
structor. An  entire  program  in  civil  engineering,  consisting  of  24  semester  courses, 
three  summer  sessions,  and  theses,  is  announced  by  three  teachers,  who  also  announce 
eight  other  courses.  An  entire  curriculum  in  electrical  engineering,  covering  14  se- 
mester courses,  is  announced  by  one  teacher,  who  gives  one-half  of  his  time  to  the 
institution,  a  promise  of  instruction  that  can  only  mislead  the  student. 

The  extended  offering  of  courses  for  a  small  number  of  students  results  in  many 
small  classes : 

34  classes  with  1  to  9  students 
33  classes  with  10  to  19  students 
20  classes  with  20  to  29  students 
13  classes  with  31  to  38  students 
5  classes  with  47  to  63  students 

Thus,  67  classes,  or  about  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number,  are  economically  too 
small;  only  about  one-fifth  are  of  economically  convenient  size. 

No  description  of  the  instruction  offered  at  the  institution  would  be  in  true  per- 
spective which  failed  to  bring  out  the  fact  that  military  instruction  and  discipline  are 
the  backbone,  not  only  of  the  curriculum,  but  of  the  school  life.  The  whole  of  every 
afternoon  is  devoted  to  military  instruction,  a  larger  amount  than  is  given  at  West 
Point.  No  other  institution  in  the  country  that  gives  so  much  military  instruction 
attempts  to  do  full  college  work  at  the  same  time. 

The  value  of  this  instruction  from  the  standpoint  of  discipline  is  doubtless  great 
when  it  is  carried  out  by  so  able  and  conscientious  an  officer  as  the  one  now  in  charge. 
This  value,  however,  depends  almost  wholly  on  the  personality  of  the  officer  detailed 
by  the  United  States  government,  and  even  at  its  best  it  is  certainly  a  question 
whether  the  prospective  engineer  does  not  sacrifice  his  engineering  to  military  train- 
ing when  he  puts  so  large  an  amount  of  time  into  the  latter.  That  the  military  work  is 


NORWICH  UNIVERSITY  191 

on  the  whole  well  done  there  seems  to  be  little  question.  In  general,  also,  the  students 
like  the  military  work.  Some  of  them  are  sent  there  with  the  hope  that  it  may  cor- 
rect deficiencies  that  have  hitherto  been  unsuccessfully  dealt  with.  There  is  so  little 
else  to  draw  the  students  to  Northfield  that  the  military  inducement  is  made  as 
attractive  as  possible. 

The  entrance  requirements  until  recently  have  been  below  those  of  graduation  from 
a  four-year  high  school,  but  that  standard  is  now  in  force,  and  has  been  applied  with 
fair  sharpness  and  sincerity.  Of  the  sixty-two  students  admitted  in  1913,  two  were 
from  colleges  or  from  normal  schools,  forty -three  were  high  school  graduates,  one  the 
graduate  of  an  academy,  seven  were  non-graduates  admitted  on  certificate,  one  a  non- 
graduate  admitted  on  examination,  two  were  admitted  on  personal  interview,  two 
upon  certificates  returned,  and  four  lacked  certificates.  The  two  admitted  on  the  basis 
of  personal  interview  were  both  over  twenty-one.  The  entrance  standard  is  not  as 
high  as  the  examinations  of  the  New  England  College  Certificate  Board  would  make 
it,  but  it  is  reasonable,  fairly  represents  high  school  graduation,  and  is  cari'ied  out 
with  entire  honesty  in  spite  of  strong  pressure  from  parents  and  principals  to  take 
irregular  students  for  disciplinary  reasons. 

The  marking  of  a  student  is  done  minutely  and  with  care,  and  is  on  the  whole 
severe  rather  than  lenient.  Students  are  ranked  in  class.  There  are  daily  reports  of 
absence,  monthly  reports  of  standing  are  posted,  and  term  or  monthly  reports  of 
standing  are  sent  home  to  parents.  The  elimination  of  students  is  therefore  large, 
most  of  those  who  leave  going  on  account  of  poor  work,  others  to  institutions  of 
another  kind.  The  majority  of  those  who  go,  leave  at  the  end  of  the  freshman  year. 
Naturally,  in  such  close  association  as  obtains  in  an  isolated  village,  the  teaching 
staff  is  conspicuously  interested  in  the  work  of  instruction  and  is  in  close  touch  with 
the  student  body. 

The  school  confers  the  degi'ees  of  B.A.  and  B.S.  in  general  course,  as  well  as  the 
degree  of  B.S.  in  chemistry,  civil  engineering,  and  electrical  engineering.  The  mas- 
ter's degree  in  arts  and  science  and  occasionally  the  master's  degree  in  civil  engi- 
neering are  given  for  post-graduate  studies  under  the  direction  of  the  faculty,  or  for 
professional,  literary,  or  scientific  pursuits  approved  by  the  faculty.  In  1912  there  were 
conferred  one  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  two  degrees  of  bachelor  of  science  in  chemis- 
try, twenty-two  in  civil  engineering,  and  seven  in  electrical  engineering,  while  three 
degrees  of  bachelor  of  science  in  course  were  granted  to  members  of  the  classes  of  1877, 
1898,  and  1905,  and  four  honorary  degrees  were  conferred  at  the  same  time.  In  1911 
there  were  eleven  degrees  "in  course"  to  members  of  classes  from  1864  to  1886,  and 
fourteen  honorary  degrees.  The  honorary  degrees  granted  by  the  trustees,  without  the 
advice  of  the  faculty,  are  very  generously  given,  to  say  the  least. 

The  sources  from  which  students  are  drawn  is  shown  from  the  following  tabulation, 
extending  over  ten  years : 


1902-3 

1907-8 

Seniors 

18 

27 

Juniors 

11 

31 

Sophomores 

15 

38 

Freshmen 

26 

72 

Specials 

4 

Total 

74 

16"8 

From  Vermont 

57   (77%) 

87    1 

192  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

1912-13 
18 
33 
2S 
6S 

147 
(51%)  62    (42%) 

The  proportional  attendance  from  Vermont  is  thus  small,  and  has  decreased  from 
three-fourths  to  less  than  one-half.  Most  of  the  Vermont  students  are  from  a  restricted 
area.^ 

In  1912-13  students  attended  the  institution  from  nine  other  states.  Of  these  49, 
or  33|  per  cent  of  the  entire  attendance,  came  from  Massachusetts,  and  15,  or  10  per 
cent,  from  New  Hampshire, — that  is  to  say,  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
together  sent  more  students  than  the  state  of  Vermont.  In  addition,  there  were  8 
from  Connecticut,  5  from  Maine,  one  or  two  from  five  other  states,  and  one  student 
from  China.  The  attraction  to  most  of  these  men  who  come  from  outside  the  state  is 
apparently  the  mihtary  work. 

The  Dodge-Ellis  History  of  Norwich  University  shows  that  in  the  past  fifteen 
years  the  graduates  have  gone  in  very  large  numbers  into  engineering.  During  that 
period  175  adopted  that  profession,  36  went  into  business  of  various  kinds,  28  into 
military  or  naval  service,  14  into  teaching,  4  into  law,  and  1  into  medicine.  About 
two-thirds  of  the  graduates  pursue  engineering  in  one  form  or  another.  The  term 
"military  service,"  as  applied  to  a  number  of  these  graduates,  refers  only  to  tempo- 
rary service.  A  representative  of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company  selects  seniors  from 
the  institution  for  its  work  each  year. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  here  is  an  institution  in  a  small  and  isolated  com- 
munity, with  meagre  equipment  and  slender  resources,  offering  modest  opportunities 
for  training  in  engineering  by  a  faculty  that  is  ill-paid  and  overworked.  The  intimate 
relation  of  faculty  and  students  serves  to  help  out  the  character  of  the  instruction, 
and  the  preponderating  place  given  to  military  drill  and  military  instruction  affects 
the  whole  conduct  of  the  work  and  the  life  of  the  institution,  "\^^len  one  visits  the 
school  and  observes  the  devotion  that  many  of  its  teachers  give  and  notes  the  loyalty  of 
those  connected  with  it,  he  hesitates  to  suggest  action  that  would  diminish  the  meagre 
support  that  the  school  now  receives.  On  the  other  hand,  when  one  considers  the  ques- 
tion whether  the  state  of  Vermont  ought  to  subsidize  such  an  institution,  it  seems 
clear  that  injustice  to  the  interests  of  the  state  itself,  in  justice  to  its  obligations  to 
other  forms  of  education,  and  in  justice  also  to  the  students,  the  expenditure  of  state 
money  for  such  an  institution  cannot  be  defended.  There  is  conducted  in  the  Uni- 

*See  Part  III. 


NORWICH  UNIVERSITY  193 

versity  of  Vermont  a  much  stronger  engineering  school,  under  far  better  auspices, 
than  can  possibly  be  developed  at  Northfield.  Military  instruction  there  is  given  by 
a  United  States  officer  equally  competent  and  devoted,  although  the  amount  of  time 
given  to  military  training  is  far  less.  So  keenly  are  the  weaknesses  of  Norwich  felt 
that  it  is  only  by  a  system  of  subsidies  that  students  are  brought  to  the  school  in  any 
considerable  numbers.  Even  under  these  circumstances  a  majority  of  the  students 
come  from  outside  the  state.  That  the  state  of  Vermont  should  tax  itself  to  support 
a  school  whose  facilities  for  engineering  are  so  meagre,  whose  chief  function  is  mili- 
tary instruction,  the  majority  of  whose  students  are  drawn  from  outside  the  state, 
is  a  use  of  money  that  cannot  be  defended  upon  any  educational  grounds,  or  upon  the 
grounds  of  the  state's  duty  to  the  system  of  elementary  and  secondary  schools.  If  such 
a  military  school  is  to  be  conducted,  it  should  be  supported  from  other  sources,  and 
the  state  should  apply  its  own  funds  to  those  direct  problems  of  education  in  which 
every  child  on  the  farm,  in  the  village,  or  in  the  town  is  immediately  interested,  and 
upon  which  the  intellectual,  moral,  and  material  progress  of  the  state  depends.  It  is 
here  that  the  state's  duty  lies. 


XIV 
THE  HISTORY  OF  VERMONT  SUBSIDIES  TO  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

The  relations  that  have  existed  in  Vermont  between  the  state  and  the  three  insti- 
tutions of  higher  learning  that  the  state  has  subsidized  have  been  of  a  somewhat 
unusual  character.  The  nature  of  this  relation  has  been  described  fully  in  Section  X. 
It  was  there  shown  that  while  the  state  has  retained  a  certain  measure  of  control  with 
respect  to  all  of  these  institutions,  appointing  in  the  case  of  the  University  of  Vermont 
half  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  in  the  case  of  Norwich  University  a  visiting  board 
whose  function  is  to  criticize  and  report  the  condition  of  the  institution,  nevertheless 
the  practical  working  of  the  relationship  results  in  the  subsidizing  by  the  state  of 
independent  institutions. 

Actual  appropriations  of  money  by  the  state  of  Vermont  to  the  three  institutions 
of  learning  began  in  1852,  when  the  legislature  canceled  a  vote  of  the  University  of 
Vermont  to  the  School  Fund,  and  divided  the  remainder  of  the  fund  between  Middle- 
bury  College  and  Norwich  University.  No  further  appropriation  was  made  to  any  of 
the  three  institutions  until  the  year  1884,  when  an  act  was  passed  appropriating  to 
Norwich  University  $1500  annually,  which  was  to  be  used  in  payment  for  tuition  and 
room  rent  for  thirty  cadets.  The  first  institutional  subsidy,  therefore,  was  obtained  by 
that  device  which  has  been  used  so  often  in  so  many  states, — the  state  was  induced  to 
make  an  appropriation  to  an  institution  under  the  guise  of  assisting  students. 

In  1886  an  appropriation  of  S3500  annually  was  voted  for  the  support  and  mainte- 
nance of  the  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  but  this  act  was  promptly  repealed 
in  1888,  when  it  was  reahzed  that  the  Experiment  Station  was  to  receive  support 
from  the  United  States  government.  This  procedure  is  also  characteristic  of  legisla- 
tion in  other  states.  No  state  of  the  Union  will  pay  for  educational  support  that  it 
can  induce  the  United  States  government  to  give.  From  that  day  to  this  the  Agri- 
cultural Experimeht  Station  and  the  Agricultural  College  have  been  supported  out  of 
the  funds  granted  to  the  state  by  the  general  government,  the  only  contribution  of 
the  state  being  an  appropriation  of  $60,000  in  1904  for  the  construction  and  equip- 
ment of  a  building  for  the  department  of  agriculture. 

In  1888  the  University  of  Vermont  and  Middlebury  College,  having  noted  the  suc- 
cess of  Norwich  University  in  obtaining  a  subsidy,  secured  the  passage  of  an  act  grant- 
ing each  of  them  $2400  a  year  for  four  years  for  paying  "  the  tuition  and  incidental 
college  charges  of  thirty  students,"  and  the  university  also  obtained  that  year  an 
additional  appropriation  of  $3600  for  providing  competent  instruction  in  branches 
of  learning  related  to  industrial  arts. 

When  these  appropriations  expired  in  1892  they  were,  by  an  act  of  that  year, 
made  annual  appropriations,  and  by  a  second  act  of  the  same  year  the  appropriation 
to  Norwich  University  for  the  payment  of  tuition  and  rent  for  thirty  students  was 


HISTORY  OF  VERMONT  SUBSIDIES  TO  HIGHER  EDUCATKJN  195 

raised  to  S2400  annually.  There  was  thus  realized  in  this  year  the  completion  of  an 
arrangement  which  practically  became  a  gentlemen's  agreement,  under  which  the 
three  institutions,  or  those  who  represented  them,  have  since  that  date  worked  to- 
gether to  the  end  that  each  should  dip  its  hand  into  the  state  treasury  to  as  large 
an  extent  as  possible.  This  process,  accompanied  with  little  supervision  as  to  how 
the  money  should  be  expended,  has  resulted  in  increasing  the  state  expenditures  year 
by  year,  and  has  developed  more  and  more  a  disposition  to  play  three  sections  of  the 
state  against  one  another. 

Annual  Appropriations  for  Vermont  Colleges  ^ 


Year 

University  of 
Vermont 

Middlebury 
College 

Norwich 
University 

Total 

1884-1885 

$1,500 

$1,500 

1885-1886 

1,500 

1,500 

1886-1887 

1,500 

1,500 

1887-1888 

1,500 

1,500 

1888-1889 

$6,000 

$2,400 

1,500 

9,900 

1889-1890 

6,000 

2,400 

1,500 

9,900 

1890-1891 

6,000 

2,400 

1,500 

9,900 

1891-1892 

6,000 

2,400 

1,500 

9,900 

1892-1893 

6,000 

2,400 

2,400 

10,800 

1893-1894 

6,000 

2,400 

2,400 

10,800 

1894-1895 

6,000 

2,460 

2,400 

10,800 

1895-1896 

6,000 

2,400 

2,400 

10.800 

1896-1897 

6,000 

2,400 

2,400 

10,800 

1897-1898 

6,000 

2,400 

2,400 

10,800 

1898-1899 

6,000 

2,400 

6,000 

14,400 

1899-1900 

6,000 

2,400 

6,000 

14,400 

1900-1901 

6,000 

2,400 

6,000 

14,400 

1901-1902 

6,000 

2,400 

6,000 

14.400 

1902-1903 

6,000 

2,400 

6,000 

14,400 

1903-1904 

6,000 

2,400 

6,000 

14,400 

1904-1905 

6,000 

2,400 

11,000 

19.400 

1905-1906 

6,000 

2,400 

11,000 

19,400 

1906-1907 

6,000 

2,400 

11,000 

19.400 

1907-1908 

6,000 

2,400 

11,000 

19.400 

1908-1909 

6,000 

2,400 

11,000 

19,400 

1909-1910 

16,000 

8,400 

11,000 

35,400 

1910-1911 

26,000 

8,400 

11.000 

45.400 

1911-1912 

26,000 

16,000 

11,000 

53,000 

1912  1913 

26,000 

16,000 

11,000 

53,000 

1913-1914 

52,300 

28,800 

20,000 

100,100 

From  1892  onward,  as  the  preceding  table  shows,  the  amount  of  money  devoted 
to  each  institution  has  greatly  increased.  The  annual  appropriations  for  each  remained 
practically  constant  until  the  year  1898,  the  University  of  Vermont  receiving  $6000 


^  It  is  believed  that  this  table  is  substantially  correct,  in  spite  of  the  puzzling  character  of  the  appropriations  which 
continue,  witliout  beinj?  mentioned  when  additional  appropriations  are  made.  The  table  does  not  include  the  early 
grants  to  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  the  summer  session  payments  to  Middlebury  College,  or  the  payments 
to  Norwich  University  for  militia  service  and  forage. 


196  EDUCATION  IN  \"ERj\IONT 

annually,  each  of  the  other  institutions  S2400  annually.  In  the  year  1898  the  friends 
of  Norwich  University  succeeded  in  boosting  their  appropriation  by  $3600,  the  others 
remaining  the  same.  In  1904)  the  friends  of  Norwich  University  again  took  the  initia- 
tive and  raised  the  appropriation  of  that  institution  to  $11,000,  the  others  remaining 
the  same.  In  the  year  1908,  however,  the  appropriations  for  the  University  of  Vermont 
and  for  Middlebury  College  were  increased  to  $16,000  and  $8400  respectively,  the 
former  for  the  maintenance  of  medical  instruction,  the  latter  to  establish  and  maintain 
a  department  for  the  education  and  training  of  high  school  teachers.  Since  that  date 
the  increases  have  been  rapid,  so  that  for  the  year  1913-14  the  appropriation  of  the 
University  of  Vermont  amounts  to  $52,300,  that  of  Middlebury  College  to  $28,800, 
and  that  of  Norwich  University  to  $20,000,  a  total  annual  appropriation  of  $100,100. 

The  character  of  this  legislation  is  well  indicated  in  the  words  of  the  acts  them- 
selves. For  example,  in  some  of  these  appropriations,  such  as  that  in  1908  of  $10,000 
for  the  maintenance  of  medical  instruction,  the  money  is  devoted  by  the  words  of  the 
act  to  a  specific  and  definite  purpose.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  appropriation 
made  in  that  year  to  Middlebury  for  the  establishment  of  a  department  of  peda- 
gogy. In  both  these  cases  the  language  was  specific,  and  the  money  was  devoted  to 
purposes  that  might  reasonably  be  claimed  to  be  closely  related  to  the  educational 
interests  of  the  whole  state. 

The  legislation  enacted  in  1910,  however,  in  favor  of  the  University  of  Vermont 
and  of  Middlebury  College  plainly  indicates  the  general  tendency  of  the  competition 
between  these  institutions  in  an  effort  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  knowledge.  In  that 
year  the  University  of  Vermont  and  Middlebury  College  each  received  an  annual  ap- 
propriation of  $13,600.  The  act  provided  that  the  money  appropriated  to  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont  might  be  used  for  "providing  instinjction  in  the  principles  and  methods 
of  teaching,  in  branches  relating  to  English  language  and  literature,  ancient  and  modern 
languages  and  history,  mathematics,  political,  social,  moral  and  industrial  sciences." 
The  language  of  this  act  plainly  indicates  that  in  1910  the  University  of  Vermont 
was  getting  ready  to  meet  the  competition  of  Middlebury  College  in  the  establishment 
of  its  department  of  pedagogy,  and  that  the  act  was  so  fi'amed  that  the  money  might 
be  used  not  only  for  this  purpose,  but  for  the  purpose  of  instruction  in  any  other  field 
of  knowledge  that  it  might  be  desirable  to  enter. 

The  language  of  the  act  appropriating  money  to  IVIiddlebury  College  was  even 
more  objectionable.  It  provided  $13,600  annually  for  "the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  a  department  of  pedagogy  for  the  education  and  training  of  high  school 
teachers  in  said  institution,  and  to  provide  instruction  in  forestry  and  other  subjects 
related  to  the  industries  of  Vermont."  The  part  of  this  act  relating  to  the  depart- 
ment of  pedagogy  is  merely  a  repetition  of  that  enacted  in  1908.  It  is  specific  and 
direct;  but  the  remainder  of  the  act  plainly  provided  a  blanket  clause  by  which  Mid- 
dlebury College  could  meet  the  competition  of  the  University  of  Vermont  in  forestry 
and  other  subjects  relating  to  the  industries  of  Vermont.  The  language  of  these  two 


HISTORY  OF  VERMONT  SUBSIDIES  TO  HIGHER  EDUCATION  197 

acts  shows  clearly  the  sort  of  duplication  and  rivah'y  that  is  sure  to  result  where  com- 
peting institutions  are  being  subsidized  by  the  same  state  legislature.  The  only  func- 
tion that  Middlebury  College  can  perform  is  that  of  a  college.  For  the  support  of  even 
that  work  it  has  not  large  resources.  To  expend  any  funds  that  it  may  have  in  forestry 
and  similar  subjects  related  to  the  industries  of  Vermont  is  to  undertake  instruction 
that  it  clearly  cannot  give.  In  these  two  appropriations  the  words  "industrial  sci- 
ences" in  the  one  case,  and  "subjects  related  to  the  industries  of  Vermont"  in  the  other, 
simply  mean  that  each  institution  intended  to  preempt  as  wide  a  field  of  instruction 
as  it  could.  No  better  example  could  be  given  of  the  political  attitude  into  which 
colleges  are  drawn  by  such  competition. 

The  passage  of  these  two  pieces  of  legislation  was,  in  the  natural  order  of  events, 
supplemented  at  the  next  legislature  by  the  passage  of  an  act  carrying  an  appropria- 
tion of  $11,000  annually,  and  $9000  more  for  two  years,  in  favor  of  Norwich  Univer- 
sity, to  be  used  in  the  development  of  a  school  of  engineering  and  for  "the  mainte- 
nance of  laboratories  and  equipment  for  its  work  in  engineering."  The  state  here 
subsidized  with  $20,000  a  weak  school  of  engineering  a  few  miles  away  from  a  much 
stronger  school  already  developed  at  Burlington.  With  the  passage  of  this  act  the 
gentlemen's  agreement  reached  its  maximum.  Each  institution  now  has  its  hand  in 
the  state  treasury  for  a  large  amount  of  money;  each  institution  is  careful  not  to 
oppose,  at  least  openly,  the  application  for  subsidy  to  the  other,  but  each  takes  care 
that  when  any  subsidy  is  granted  its  friends  shall  see  that  a  similar  increase  is  voted 
to  their  own  institution. 

This  arrangement  has  grown  up  very  naturally.  Those  in  control  of  these  institu- 
tions are  not  directly  responsible  for  it.  Money  has  been  appropriated  year  after  year 
under  blanket  provisions  without  any  real  scrutiny  from  the  state  as  to  how  it  was 
used,  as  to  the  unnecessary  duplications  that  were  developed,  or  the  personal  and  in- 
stitutional rivalries  that  were  being  fed.  The  situation  has  been  unfortunate  for  the 
institutions  themselves  and  for  the  whole  state.  The  feeling  developed  between  the 
friends  of  the  separate  colleges  has  spread  by  the  contests  before  the  legislative  com- 
mittees to  a  far  larger  number  of  people  than  those  connected  with  the  institutions. 
Persons  became  partisans  of  one  or  the  other  institution  without  any  knowledge  of 
their  work  or  of  their  relative  significance.  The  whole  situation  is  one  whose  contin- 
uance would  be  unfortunate  from  every  point  of  view.  It  is  a  question  whether  the 
state  of  Vermont,  in  view  of  its  obligation  to  the  elementary  and  secondary  school  sys- 
tem, ought  to  make  any  subsidies  to  the  institutions  of  higher  learning.  Higher  edu- 
cation does  not  need  this  sort  of  stimulation  in  New  England.  Colleges  having  a  real 
educational  service  will  receive  requisite  financial  support  from  an  intelligent  public. 

In  seeking  to  make  clear  to  those  responsible  for  legislation  and  to  the  public  the 
consequence  of  the  educational  rivalry  that  has  existed  in  Vermont,  it  should  be  said 
that  this  is  done  without  the  slightest  desire  to  criticize  those  now  responsible  for  the 
conduct  of  these  colleges.  The  president  of  the  University  of  Vermont  has  been  only 


198  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

a  short  time  in  the  state  ;  the  president  of  Aliddlebury  College  has  had  but  a  few  years 
of  service;  and  the  president  of  Norwich  University  has  been  in  office  somewhat  less 
than  a  dozen  years.  These  gentlemen  and  the  trustees  associated  with  them  inherited  a 
situation  that  has  existed  for  thirty  years.  The  college  president  feels  most  keenly  the 
responsibility  of  caring  for  and  promoting  the  interests  of  his  own  institution.  He  is 
not  charged,  except  indirectly,  with  the  duty  of  determining  whether  the  state  ought 
to  appropriate  money  or  not.  His  main  obligation  lies  in  the  development  and  progress 
of  his  institution.  He  stands  too  close  to  his  college  to  be  an  impartial  judge  of  what 
the  state  ought  to  do  for  it.  That  responsibility  rests  upon  the  legislators.  They  are 
the  representatives  of  the  people  who  have  voted  money  to  these  competing  interests, 
and  they  are  the  responsible  agents  of  the  whole  people  to  correct  whatever  ill  effects 
have  resulted  from  the  policy  hitherto  in  force.  The  present  occasion,  when  a  study  is 
being  made  of  the  whole  educational  field  of  Vermont,  is  no  time  for  recrimination 
as  to  what  has  been  done  in  the  past.  It  is  the  time  for  a  sober,  judicious,  and  fair 
decision  of  the  state's  obligation  to  education,  and  the  determination  of  a  policy  for 
the  future  that  shall  serve  the  interests  of  the  whole  people  without  diverting  money 
to  causes  that  are  essentially  local  or  competitive.  For  this  determination  the  leg- 
islator, not  the  college  president,  is  responsible.  The  argument  of  the  college  presi- 
dent to  maintain  the  status  quo  is  one  to  which  the  legislator  ought  not  to  listen.  No 
college  president  is  an  impartial  judge  as  to  whether  a  state  ought  to  make  an  ap- 
propriation for  his  college.  To  submit  to  him  such  a  question  is  to  put  him  in  a  wrong 
position.  That  question  must  be  answered  and  that  responsibility  must  be  taken  by 
those  who  are  primarily  responsible  to  the  people  for  the  spending  of  the  people's 
money. 


XV 

THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

The  preceding  sections  have  dealt  in  detail  with  the  equipment,  the  teaching  facilities, 
and  the  courses  of  study  of  the  three  colleges  now  subsidized  by  the  state.  A  brief 
reference  may  be  made  to  the  general  outlook  for  higher  education. 

There  are  at  present  in  the  three  Vermont  colleges  some  1026  students  of  all  classes. 
Of  these,  565,  a  little  more  than  one-half,  come  from  Vermont.  On  the  other  hand,  some 
400  Vermont  students  are  in  attendance  upon  colleges  outside  the  state.  There  are, 
therefore,  in  every  thousand  of  population  in  Vermont  three  students  of  higher  edu- 
cation. This  is  a  high  rate  of  college  attendance,  —  the  general  rate  throughout  New 
England.  For  the  future  it  may  be  assumed  that  with  good  standards  and  stricter 
requirements,  such  as  are  likely  to  be  maintained,  the  general  growth  of  college 
attendance  will  be  no  more  rapid  than  in  the  last  ten  years. 

There  is,  however,  one  source  from  which  the  student  body  is  likely  to  receive  large 
additions.  In  Vermont  there  are  fully  as  many  young  women  as  young  men.  The  effect 
of  the  entry  of  women  into  the  higher  professions  and  into  the  industrial  life  of  the 
country  is  only  just  beginning  to  be  felt  in  the  colleges  and  universities  of  New  Eng- 
land. In  the  high  schools  there  are  many  more  girls  than  boys.  It  seems  inevitable 
that  the  number  of  women  both  in  the  University  of  Vermont  and  in  Middleburv 
College  will  increase,  and  will  equal,  if  not  exceed,  the  number  of  the  men,  as  is  the 
case  in  some  of  the  western  state  universities. 

This  result  is  a  perfectly  natural  outcome  of  the  adoption  of  the  principle  of  co- 
education, and  is  a  result  that  might  well  have  been  foreseen  from  the  beginning. 
The  Vermont  colleges,  however,  appear  to  have  realized  the  significance  of  the  move- 
ment only  within  a  few  years,  and  at  the  University  of  Vermont  and  at  Middlebury 
College  there  is  an  uneasy  feeling  over  it.  Both  are  a  little  fearful  lest  they  become 
distinctively  women's  colleges.  Both  offer  inducements  to  men  rather  than  to  women. 
At  Middlebury,  where  the  influx  of  w  omen  has  been  greatly  increased  by  the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  department  for  the  training  of  teachers,  the  women  enjoy  fewer  scholar- 
ships. 

These  precautions  are  not  likely  to  have  any  effect  against  a  steadily  rising  stream. 
When  institutions  have  adopted  the  principle  of  co-education,  the  growth  in  the  at- 
tendance of  women  is  a  normal  and  natural  thing.  That  it  will  in  the  course  of  time 
change  the  character  of  the  institutions  is  not  to  be  denied,  but  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  this  change  will  affect  the  scholarly  and  educational  value  of  the  insti- 
tutions. Women  students  do  not  contribute  to  the  intercollegiate  athletic  regime  in 
quite  the  same  way  as  men,  but  they  are  on  the  whole  more  conscientious  and  more 
studious,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  their  presence  in  the  college  will  take 
away  from  the  intellectual  vigor  of  the  institutions.  In  any  case  it  is  evident  that  a  col- 


200  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

lege  cannot  accept  co-education  and  avoid  its  obvious  results.  Under  the  conditions 
imposed  by  our  social  and  industrial  ideals  of  to-day,  with  a  population  in  the  state 
equally  divided  between  the  sexes,  with  the  secondary  schools  containing  a  far  larger 
proportion  of  young  women  than  of  young  men,  it  is  clear  that  the  Vermont  colleges 
will  in  a  few  years  appeal  quite  as  much  to  the  women  as  to  the  men. 

A  word  should  be  said  also  as  to  the  large  body  of  Vermont  students  who  now 
seek  educational  opportunities  at  colleges  outside  of  the  state.  In  the  campaigns  that 
the  colleges  have  made  before  the  legislature  some  attention  has  been  called  to  this 
matter,  and  it  has  been  urged  that  the  state  should  aim,  by  affording  additional  facil- 
ities, to  keep  these  students  in  the  colleges  of  Vermont.  It  requires  but  a  brief  analysis 
of  this  student  migration  to  show  that  it  is  in  large  measure  due  to  causes  that  are 
independent  of  the  opportunities  that  the  \  ermont  colleges  can  offer,  and  that  on 
the  whole  it  is  an  advantage  and  not  a  disadvantage  to  the  state  to  have  its  sons  and 
daughters  seek  superior  educational  advantages  wherever  they  can  find  them. 

There  are,  roughly  speaking,  400  Vermont  students  attending  colleges  outside 
the  state.  The  institutions  to  which  the  largest  groups  go  are  as  follows,  the  num- 
bers being  those  for  the  year  1912-13.  It  will  be  noted  that  Dartmouth  is,  next  to  the 
University  of  Vermont  and  Middlebury,  the  largest  Vei'mont  college. 

Dartmouth  College 
Smith  College 
Syracuse  University 
Harvard  University 
Tufts  College 
Mt.  Holyoke  College 
Yale  University 
Simmons  College 
Cornell  University 
Columbia  University 
Brown  University 

The  remaining  Vermont  educational  emigrants  are  scattered  among  some  twenty- 
five  other  institutions. 

An  analysis  of  the  colleges  to  which  these  students  go  and  of  the  courses  of  study 
that  they  pursue  shows  that  they  have  gone  either  in  response  to  certain  definite  wants 
or  under  certain  educational  preferences,  A  large  group  of  the  students  who  go  outside 
of  Vermont  go  for  better  professional  training — to  law  schools  like  that  at  Harvard; 
to  medical  schools  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Chicago;  to  strong  engineering  schools 
like  those  at  Cornell  and  at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  Another 
group  is  made  up  of  students  who  go  to  long-established  institutions  like  Harvard, 
Yale,  Williams,  and  Brown.  In  many  cases  these  are  the  sons  of  alumni  of  these  in- 
stitutions. In  other  cases  they  are  attracted  by  the  advantages  and  the  renown  of  the 


65 

Boston  University 

10 

30 

Worcester  Polytechnic  Institute 

10 

28 

Wellesley  College 

9 

27 

University  of  Maine 

9 

26 

Wesleyan  University 

9 

26 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 

8 

22 

Vassar  College 

7 

20 

University  of  Michigan 

7 

16 

Williams  College 

6 

13 

Amherst  College 

5 

11 

University  of  Chicago 

5 

OUTLOOK  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT  201 

institutions  themselves.  It  is  quite  clear  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  students, 
among  both  men  and  women,  arc  influenced  by  a  preference  for  institutions  that  arc 
not  co-educational.  For  example,  nearly  one-quarter  of  the  entire  migration  consists 
of  students  at  the  well-known  women's  colleges.  A  large  attendance  at  institutions 
like  Syracuse  University,  Tufts  College,  and  Wesleyan  University  is  due  to  denomi- 
national preferences.  No  changes  that  Vermont  might  make  in  the  support  of  its  insti- 
tutions are  likely  to  affect  these  classes  of  students.  Professional  students  in  law  and 
medicine  and  engineering  will  continue  to  go  where  they  can  find  superior  advantages. 
Graduates  of  Harvard  and  Yale  and  Williams  will  continue  to  send  their  sons  to  these 
institutions.  Women  who  prefer  a  distinctive  women's  college  will  continue  to  go  to 
Smith  and  Vassar  and  Wellesley  and  Bryn  Mawr.  The  Universalists  will  continue  to 
send  their  sons  to  Tufts,  the  Methodists  to  Syracuse  and  Wesleyan,  as  long  as  denom- 
inational feeling  remains  strong.  Nothing  that  the  state  can  do  will  divert  this  stream 
of  migrating  students.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  to  the  distinct  advantage  of  the  state 
that  its  sons  and  daughters  avail  themselves  of  the  best  educational  advantages  and 
return  to  their  native  state.  It  is  a  vital  question  to  Vermont  that  its  physicians  should 
be  well  trained,  but  it  is  a  question  of  comparatively  little  importance  where  they  get 
their  training.  This  migration  of  students  is  a  thing  concerning  which  the  state  has 
no  occasion  to  concern  itself,  so  long  as  there  exists  in  Vermont  itself  fair  collegiate 
opportunities  for  its  sons  and  daughters  who  either  prefer  to  remain  at  home  or 
cannot  afford  to  go  elsewhere. 

In  repayment  of  this  debt  to  the  outside  colleges  Vermont  extends  an  educational 
hospitality  to  an  unusually  large  number  of  students  who  come  from  outside  the  state. 
As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  at  the  University  of  Vermont  38  per  cent,  at  Mid- 
dlebury  College  53  per  cent,  and  at  Norwich  University  57  per  cent  of  the  students 
are  not  Vermonters.  The  principal  outside  sources  whence  students  are  drawn  to  the 
Vermont  colleges  are  shown  in  the  following  table,  made  up  from  the  student  attend- 
ance for  the  year  1912-13: 


Vermont 

University  of 

Vermont 

350 

Middlebury 

College 

153 

Norwich 

University 

62 

Massachusetts 

55 

57 

49 

New  York 

54> 

31 

1 

New  Hampshire 
Connecticut 

21 
24 

24 

27 

15 
8 

New  Jersey 

13 

16 

2 

Maine 

6 

0 

5 

Pennsylvania 
Rhode  Island 

6 
5 

0 
3 

2 

Canada 

4 

1 

It  will  be  seen  that,  next  to  the  state  of  Vermont,  Massachusetts  is  the  great  con- 


202  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

tributor  to  the  Vermont  student  body.  About  16  per  cent  of  the  total  attendance 
in  the  three  colleges  is  from  Massachusetts.  They  do  not  come,  as  one  might  infer, 
mainly  from  western  Massachusetts,  but  from  all  over  the  state.  One  contributory  fac- 
tor in  this  migration  may  be  the  preference  of  a  certain  number  of  Massachusetts 
students  for  a  co-educational  institution.  New  York  is  next  to  Massachusetts  in  stu- 
dent representation  in  Vermont.  That  part  of  New  York  lying  west  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain  is  practically  unprovided  with  colleges,  and  the  University  of  Vermont  and 
Middlebury  College  are  the  most  convenient  seats  of  learning  for  students  from  this 
region.  Similar  geographical  considerations  hold  with  respect  to  students  coming 
from  New  Hampshire  and  Connecticut.  It  is  a  fortunate  thing  that  the  attendance 
upon  educational  institutions  of  higher  learning  is  independent  of  state  lines.  In 
the  long  run,  all  of  the  states  profit  by  the  arrangement,  and  a  state  repays  by  the 
students  that  it  entertains  in  its  colleges  the  educational  debt  it  owes  to  other  states. 

In  the  preceding  sections  an  effort  has  been  made  to  show  those  essential  facts  re- 
lating to  the  work  of  the  three  institutions  which  would  enable  the  reader  to  under- 
stand their  work  and  their  significance  to  the  state.  It  would  be  a  simple  matter  to 
develop  such  a  study  into  a  minute  criticism  of  the  details  of  each  institution.  Noth- 
ing is  easier  than  to  point  out  the  weak  places  in  a  course  of  study,  the  deficien- 
cies of  the  teaching  staff  of  a  department,  the  lack  of  facilities  in  this  or  in  another 
direction.  Such  criticism,  however,  is  of  little  value  either  to  the  institutions  them- 
selves or  to  those  who  seek  to  help  them.  There  is  always  danger  that  in  such  a  study 
the  consideration  of  details  will  obscure  the  fundamental  questions  involved. 

Any  college  or  university  having  a  real  reason  for  existence  must  face  two  funda- 
mental questions  :  one  is  a  question  of  educational  judgment,  the  other  a  question  of 
personnel. 

The  first  may  be  stated  somewhat  as  follows:  Taking  into  account  its  situation,  its 
probable  resources  and  its  constituency,  what  fields  of  education  ought  the  institution 
to  cultivate?  What  are  the  possibilities  of  the  college,  and  what  are  its  limitations.? 
This  is  a  question  of  educational  policy.  It  is  fundamental,  and  the  solution  that  is 
made  of  it  controls  in  greater  or  smaller  degree  all  other  acts  that  the  college  performs. 

The  second  question  a  college  has  to  solve  is:  Having  decided  the  field  in  which  it 
may  work,  how  can  it  secure  scholarly  and  able  men  to  do  the  work.-* 

College  boards  of  trustees  and  college  officers  seldom  place  these  questions  in  the 
foreground.  As  a  rule,  those  who  administer  the  college  deal  with  details.  They  add 
a  chair  here,  a  department  there,  and  meet  the  competition  of  a  nearby  institution  by  a 
parallel  course  of  study.  The  process  is  like  that  of  a  government  bureau.  The  organi- 
zation grows  by  accretion,  not  by  a  process  of  natural  growth  and  a  shedding  of 
atrophied  members. 

The  answer  to  these  fundamental  questions  for  any  particular  institution  is  to  be 
worked  out  by  those  who  are  responsible  for  it.  No  outside  agency  can  do  it.  The 


OUTLOOK  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT  203 

best  that  such  an  agency  can  do  is  to  give  the  point  of  view  of  the  outsider.  This  has 
its  advantages  and  its  disadvantages.  The  outside  point  of  view  is  at  least  disinter- 
ested. It  overlooks  the  whole  field.  It  is  not  swayed  by  personal  and  local  influences. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  cannot  voice  the  aspirations,  the  hopes,  the  strivings  of  a  com- 
munity or  of  a  state ;  and  educational  institutions  must  take  into  account  not  only 
those  things  that  are  seen,  but  some  of  the  things  that  are  not  seen.  Educational 
institutions  can  no  more  neglect  sentiment  than  can  religious  institutions,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  sentiment  must  not  be  allowed  to  run  away  with  sound  judgment. 
The  following  general  observations,  therefore,  upon  these  two  fundamental  topics,  as 
they  relate  themselves  to  the  three  Vermont  colleges,  are  presented  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  educational  student  who  recognizes  the  value  of  sentiment,  and  who  is 
willing  to  see  such  questions  solved  not  only  on  the  ground  of  cold  reason,  but  in 
a  spirit  of  educational  sympathy. 

In  attempting  to  indicate  a  feasible  educational  policy  for  the  University  of  Ver- 
mont, one  will  take  into  account  first  of  all  its  situation.  It  stands  in  a  cultured  and 
interesting  community  in  a  small  city  of  more  than  usual  attractiveness.  Such  a  city 
ought  to  afford  distinct  advantages  of  a  social  sort  both  to  the  members  of  a  faculty 
and  of  a  student  body ;  and  a  part  of  the  problem  of  those  who  direct  such  an  insti- 
tution would  be  to  make  the  most  of  these  advantages. 

From  the  purely  educational  side  the  development  of  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sci- 
ences of  the  university  would  seem  to  be  its  first  and  greatest  duty.  This  college  is  the 
oldest  branch  of  the  university.  Whatsoever  of  sentiment  and  tradition  has  grown  up 
clusters  about  it.  Here  the  university  seeks  to  do  two  things :  to  give  a  liberal  educa- 
tion to  those  who  are  to  complete  in  college  their  formal  studies,  and  to  give  a  liberal 
foundation  to  those  who  will  seek  preparation  for  the  professions  here  or  elsewhere. 
To  accomplish  these  ends,  strong  courses  in  the  humanities  and  in  the  sciences  are 
necessary.  The  student  who  looks  toward  law  or  toward  medicine  or  toward  engineer- 
ing should  find  here  a  thorough  and  fruitful  foundation  for  his  profession. 

The  second  obvious  and  pressing  duty  of  the  University  of  Vermont  is  the  devel- 
opment of  the  State  Agricultural  College  into  a  fruitful  and  efficient  educational 
agency,  having  a  stimulating  relation  to  the  industries  of  the  state.  The  obligation 
to  do  this  is  all  the  stronger  because  the  university  has  accepted  from  the  state  this 
trust  and  has  received  through  the  state  a  generous  endowment  from  the  national 
government.  It  is  a  question  no  less  of  educational  consistency  than  of  educational 
honor  that  this  college  should  be  made  strong  and  fruitful  before  the  money  of  the 
general  government  is  spent  for  other  purposes. 

In  the  third  place  the  university  at  Burlington  is  a  fitting  and  suitable  place  for 
the  development  of  an  engineering  school  of  moderate  scope.  The  state  has  large 
interests  not  yet  touched  which  engineers  are  to  develop.  A  college  of  engineering 
having  real  and  vital  contact  with  these  growing  interests  is  clearly  within  the  pos- 
sibilities and  the  opportunities  of  the  university. 


204  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

In  the  fourth  place  a  graduate  school  would  probably,  in  the  natural  order  of 
things,  arise  slowly  out  of  the  undergraduate  instruction.  There  is,  however,  no  other 
division  of  American  university  work  that  has  in  the  past  been  less  sincere  and 
more  open  to  criticism  than  the  so-called  graduate  schools.  It  has  been  assumed  that 
no  research  w^ork  could  be  done  unless  there  was  a  formal  graduate  school,  whereas, 
if  research  comes  at  all,  it  grows  naturally  out  of  the  work  of  teacher  and  student. 
Any  graduate  school  should  await  for  its  foundation  the  development  of  a  strong 
and  well-equipped  undergraduate  college,  and  should  come  slowly  as  the  natural 
blossom  of  an  intellectual  plant. 

All  else  that  the  university  may  do  beyond  these  things  ought  to  be  entered  upon 
only  after  serious  and  thorough  study,  and  only  after  the  requisite  means  have  been 
secured  to  support  upon  a  sound  basis  the  divisions  of  work  already  mentioned.  The 
school  of  medicine  should  be  given  up. 

A  department  of  education  for  the  training  of  high  school  teachers  has  been  in- 
augurated. A  similar  department  exists  at  Middlebury  College.  As  pointed  out  else- 
where, the  number  of  high  school  teachers  required  yearly  is  small.  The  supply  that 
presents  itself  from  the  colleges  both  in  Vermont  and  adjoining  states  is  large.  Nearly 
all  these  college-trained  teachers  are  without  actual  training  in  teaching.  They  have 
been  taught  in  colleges  w^here  a  course  in  education  has  been  formed  by  adding  a  certain 
amount  of  psychology  and  theory  of  teaching  to  an  ordinary  college  course.  Teach- 
ers cannot  be  trained  in  this  way.  No  school  of  education  is  a  real  training-place  for 
teachers  until  it  offers  practice-teaching.  The  school-room  is  the  laboratory  of  the 
school  of  education.  The  teachers  training  college  that  does  not  offer  such  practice- 
teaching  is  in  the  situation  that  the  school  of  engineering  would  be  if  it  taught 
engineering  without  a  laboratory.  In  this  connection  one  word  may  be  said  concern- 
ing the  attitude  of  the  schools  toward  practice-teaching.  There  is  a  widespread  feel- 
ing among  parents  that  children  in  a  school  that  is  used  for  practice-teaching  are 
being  made  the  victims  of  educational  experiment.  Nothing  could  be  further  from 
the  facts.  No  child  is  so  well  taught  as  the  child  in  a  school  where  practice-teaching 
is  allowed.  The  situation  is  very  similar  to  that  in  the  hospitals  in  which  medical 
teaching  is  allowed.  The  patient  in  a  teaching  hospital  receives  such  attention  as 
the  patient  in  other  hospitals  can  seldom  obtain  at  any  price.  The  physician  who 
visits  the  wards  of  a  hospital  with  a  half-dozen  keen  students  at  his  heels  gives  these 
patients  a  study  that  he  gives  to  no  other.  Here  his  mistakes,  if  they  are  made, 
will  be  brought  out.  He  is  put  on  his  mettle  as  under  no  other  conditions.  In  just  the 
same  way  the  school  that  lends  itself  to  practice-teaching  gets  the  benefit  of  teachers 
quickened  at  every  step  by  the  keen  stimulus  of  the  apprentice  teacher. 

As  to  the  second  problem,  that  of  obtaining  the  men  to  do  well  the  work  which 
has  been  determined  upon,  only  a  word  need  be  said.  This  problem  is  that  which 
confronts  every  university,  whether  it  be  situated  in  a  small  city  or  a  large  one.  Ob- 
viously, it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  University  of  Vermont  to  draw  to  it  the  best  pos- 


OUTLOOK  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  LN  VERMONT  205 

sible  men  as  teachers,  to  have  these  men  represent  many  varieties  of  training,  and  to 
give  them  the  opportunity  to  create  an  atmosphere  of  scholarly  endeavor  that  shall 
be  inspiring  to  the  student.  This  is  the  problem  of  every  university.  Every  institu- 
tion has  to  resist  the  tendency  to  inbreeding,  and  deliberately  to  widen  its  choice  of 
men  without  losing  the  feeling  of  coherence  and  of  sympathy.  ITie  present  salaries  at 
the  University  of  Vermont  are  low,  compared  with  those  at  other  institutions  of  its 
standing,  and  the  bringing  of  good  men  to  its  teaching  force  will  be  in  some  mea- 
sure, at  least,  related  to  the  increase  of  salaries,  but  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
no  process  tends  toward  the  dilution  of  salaries  more  strongly  than  the  widening  of 
the  field  of  instruction.  The  university  that  undertakes  to  cover  a  limited  field  with 
a  limited  number  of  men  can,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  pay  higher  salaries  than  an 
institution  which,  with  the  same  income,  undertakes  to  deal  with  the  entire  field  of 
knowledge.  Expansion  of  the  curriculum  always  means  the  dilution  of  salaries  as  well 
as  of  energy.  To  give  a  limited  number  of  strong  courses  by  strong  men  is  far  better 
than  to  give  many  meagre  courses  by  a  large  number  of  ill-paid  men. 

Turning  from  the  University  of  Vermont  to  Middlebury  College,  one  finds  here, 
as  at  the  University  of  Vermont,  an  old  college  with  a  good  history,  whose  roots 
have  grown  in  a  true  educational  soil,  and  which  is  performing  a  real  educational 
function  in  the  state  and  region.  Here,  as  at  the  University  of  Vermont,  the  College 
of  Arts  and  Sciences  is  the  heart  of  the  institution.  This  means  no  duplication  of  an 
objectionable  sort.  Undergraduate  student  bodies  of  the  size  of  these  two  colleges 
can  be  taught  in  two  groups  without  duplication  or  waste.  To  teach  English,  mathe- 
matics, chemistry,  and  physics  to  two  such  groups  of  several  hundred  students  each 
instead  of  one  is  a  very  different  thing  from  maintaining  two  technical  schools  instead 
of  one  for  a  limited  body  of  students. 

In  Middlebury  College,  as  in  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences  at  the  University  of 
Vermont,  the  aim  will  be,  as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  to  give  both  a  general  education 
and  a  grounding  for  professional  work.  Strong  departments  are  therefore  justifiable 
not  only  in  the  humanities,  but  in  economics  and  physics  and  chemistry  and  biology. 
The  reason  for  the  existence  of  a  strong  and  vigorous  college  of  liberal  arts  in  Mid- 
dlebury College  which  shall  do  these  two  things  is  clear  and  unmistakable.  Whether 
the  college  should  undertake  more  than  this  is  a  question  that  those  who  govern  it 
should  consider  with  the  utmost  care.  Under  the  stimulus  of  a  state  subsidy,  a  depart- 
ment for  the  training  of  teachers  is  now  maintained.  Like  the  department  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont,  it  lacks  the  prime  requisite  of  practice-teaching.  Whether,  con- 
sidered from  the  purely  educational  point  of  view,  this  large  professional  department 
and  the  College  of  Arts  and  Sciences  can  be  developed  side  by  side  is  at  least  a  ques- 
tion. The  spirit  and  function  of  the  two  educational  projects  differ  widely.  In  the  long 
run,  one  or  the  other  is  likely  to  gain  the  ascendancy,  and  experience  shows  that  the 
strong  professional  spirit  generally  overcomes  the  less  aggressive  cultural  ideal.  From 
the  standpoint  of  the  state  it  seems  clear  that  the  subsidy  for  the  department  of  peda- 


206  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

gogy  should  cease.  It  would  still  remain  a  question  whether  a  department  for  the  pro- 
fessional training  of  teachers  is  educationally  wise  and  in  the  interests  of  the  College 
of  Arts  and  Sciences.  With  regard  to  the  other  ventures  of  the  college  into  engi- 
neering and  agriculture,  the  decision  seems  unquestionable.  It  may  be  entirely  desir- 
able to  offer  a  semester's  work  in  surveying  to  those  students  who  wish  to  elect  it, 
but  this  is  quite  another  thing  from  holding  out  the  suggestion  of  engineering.  A 
study  like  agriculture  may  be  an  entirely  fruitful  subject  to  incorporate  in  the  col- 
lege, but  to  hold  out  the  suggestion  that  it  is  a  vocational  opportunity  is  sure  to  be 
misleading.  The  college  may  use  any  study  that  it  can  profitably  and  advantageously 
give.  It  cannot  afford,  however,  to  jeopardize  its  main  function  of  education  by  offer- 
ing to  students  courses  that  invite  by  attractive  names  to  a  dissipation  of  their  en- 
ergy and  lead  neither  to  culture  nor  to  training.  The  college  student  of  to-day  stands 
in  very  much  greater  danger  of  intellectual  dyspepsia  from  a  series  of  indigestible 
courses  offered  him  at  random  than  he  is  of  being  restricted  to  an  intellectual  diet 
that  is  too  rigid  and  meagre. 

One  who  visits  many  of  the  small  colleges  of  the  country  throughout  the  Union  is 
necessarily  led  into  a  fairly  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  country  inns  of  the  col- 
lege towns.  Under  such  circumstances  he  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  by  an  analogy  between 
the  hotel  menu  card  and  the  intellectual  bill  of  fare  in  the  college  catalogue.  When 
one  inspects  the  bill  of  fare  that  the  innkeeper  presents  to  his  patrons,  he  finds  him- 
self bewildered  by  the  long  array  of  dishes.  He  is  offered  a  choice  as  varied  as  he  would 
find  at  a  great  city  hotel,  but  the  difficulty  is  that  out  of  the  whole  array  he  is  unable 
to  secure  a  simple  and  wholesome  meal.  He  would  gladly  exchange  the  wealth  of  the 
printed  menu  for  a  few  simple,  wholesome,  and  well-cooked  dishes.  The  college  boy 
of  to-day  who  comes  to  college  for  his  four  years  of  study  and  play  and  development 
can,  after  all,  in  that  four  years  digest  and  assimilate  only  a  limited  intellectual 
meal.  He  finds  it  no  easy  task  to  select  such  sustenance  from  the  long  and  varied  menu 
card  with  which  he  is  presented. 

The  great  and  serious  difficulty,  however,  of  the  country  college  comes  in  finding 
the  men  for  its  work.  Briefly  stated,  the  college  stands  face  to  face  with  a  question 
something  like  this:  What  inducement  can  be  offered  to  a  scholarly  and  able  man 
that  will  influence  him  to  come  at  a  meagre  salary  to  a  small  college,  where  he  is 
in  a  large  measure  cut  off  from  scholarly  companionship,  from  libraries  and  other 
facilities,  and  where  conditions  are  such  that  a  cook  cannot  be  had  for  love  or 
money  ? 

Fortunately,  the  actual  result  of  the  matter  is  not  quite  so  hopeless  as  this  ques- 
tion would  seem  to  imply.  Material  considerations,  whether  they  be  those  of  salary 
or  conditions  of  living,  do  not  wholly  govern  the  choices  made  by  able  and  scholarly 
men.  There  are  many  such  men  scattered  through  the  small  colleges  of  the  country, 
serving  on  just  such  meagre  salaries  under  just  such  difficulties  of  rising  cost  and 
economic  maladjustment.  The  president  of  Middlebury  College  himself  is  an  admira- 


OUTLOOK  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT  207 

ble  example  of  an  able  man  serving  without  regard  to  the  rewards  that  he  might  win 
elsewhere.  It  is  such  devotion  that  saves  our  colleges  from  mediocrity,  just  as  the  ser- 
vice of  the  general  government  is  saved  by  the  presence  of  devoted,  able,  and  ill-paid 
men  of  whom  the  general  public  never  hears. 

Nevertheless,  it  still  remains  true  that  the  present  conditions  tend  steadily  to  bring 
the  mediocre  man  as  professor  to  the  college  in  the  small  town,  and  that  some  effort 
must  be  made  to  better  these  conditions,  if  these  colleges  are  to  remain  fruitful  sources 
for  the  training  of  men  and  women.  Hitherto  most  colleges  have  been  so  occupied  with 
plans  to  catch  the  student  that  little  time  or  money  or  thought  has  been  left  for 
plans  to  catch  the  teacher. 

Here  again  the  solution  must  be  sought  by  those  directly  charged  with  the  respon- 
sibility. The  problem  is  difficult  enough  at  the  best.  Plainly,  increased  salaries  form 
one  factor  in  the  situation,  but  an  examination  of  many  such  colleges  leaves  at  least 
the  impression  that  the  solution  rests  by  no  means  entirely  upon  financial  grounds, 
and  that  the  matter  of  better  salaries  is  only  one  factor  in  the  problem.  Those  who 
administer  the  college  in  the  small  town  have  certain  opportunities  that  they  have 
not  hitherto  employed  by  which  to  make  more  attractive  the  life  of  the  teacher  and 
to  draw  to  them  better  men.  Having  unlimited  light  and  air  and  a  large  amount  of 
ground,  teachers'  houses  of  an  inexpensive  sort,  built  to  make  housekeeping  as  con- 
venient as  possible,  and  rented  at  a  cost  that  is  sufficient  to  pay  for  interest  and  up- 
keep, is  one  resource  for  the  country  college.  Any  plan  that  will  take  from  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  teacher's  family  some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  present  situation  woiild  make 
an  enormous  difference  in  his  outlook.  Many  a  scholar  who  would  willingly  live  in  a 
small  village  himself,  and  who  could  find  there  the  means  of  productive  scholarship, 
hesitates  to  impose  upon  his  wife  the  difficulties  of  the  regime.  It  may  well  be  that 
a  plan  of  simple  and  convenient  housing  for  professors  might  be  worked  out  under 
simple  but  attractive  conditions,  perhaps  with  a  common  dining-room.  In  numerous 
directions  the  college  authorities  might  make  their  professorial  chairs  vastly  more  at- 
tractive without  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money ;  but  to  carry  out  such  plans 
will  require  thought  and  care  and  study.  In  such  problems  the  able  men  of  business 
who  in  many  cases  constitute  the  trustees  of  such  colleges  should  be  able  to  render 
a  notable  service.  No  other  single  question  to-day  is  so  important,  both  to  the  college 
of  the  city  and  to  the  college  of  the  small  town,  as  this,  and  for  its  solution  the  small 
college  has  certain  distinct  advantages  that  it  has  hitherto  not  used.  One  or  two  men 
of  the  first  rank  in  a  small  college  faculty  raise  the  level  of  all  the  rest.  They  create 
a  different  atmosphere  and  furnish  the  ideals.  The  college  that  could  bring  half  a  dozen 
such  men  into  its  service  would  shine  in  the  educational  firmament  like  a  star  of  the 
first  magnitude. 

So  far  as  the  interests  of  higher  education  in  Vermont  are  concerned,  these  two 
institutions  give  every  promise  of  serving  them  effectively.  It  is  well  that  they  pre- 
sent a  diversity  of  environment  and  of  plan.  One  is  a  modest  university  in  a  moderate- 


208  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

sized  city,  the  other  a  good  college  in  a  small  town.  Their  opportunity  to  serve  edu- 
cation lies  not  in  imitating  each  other  or  the  larger  universities,  but  in  an  intelli- 
gent study  and  in  an  effective  solution  of  their  own  problems.  Both  have  their  roots 
deep  in  the  affections  and  confidence  of  the  citizens  of  the  state,  and  in  their  hands 
higher  education  in  Vermont  will  be  secure  and  vigorous  without  leaning  upon  a  state 
subsidy. 

When  one  comes  to  estimate  the  place  of  Nonvich  University  in  such  a  general  sur- 
vey of  higher  education,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable.  The  institution  has  no  such  edu- 
cational reason  for  existence  as  the  other  two.  It  offers  courses  in  engineering  in  a 
field  already  oversupplied  with  far  better  engineering  schools.  A  place  more  unsuited 
for  an  engineering  school  than  Northfield  it  would  be  difficult  to  find.  The  resources 
of  the  institution  are  wholly  unequal  to  the  instruction  that  it  undertakes  to  give.  For 
some  years  it  has  been  artificially  stimulated  by  a  state  subsidy.  That  subsidy  cannot 
be  defended  upon  any  sound  public  policy  or  for  any  sound  educational  reason.  If  it 
is  withdrawn,  as  it  should  be,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  those  who  administer  the  institu- 
tion to  face  frankly  and  courageously  the  question  as  to  the  true  function  of  such  an 
institution.  The  responsibility  for  this  rests  not  upon  the  state,  but  upon  those  who 
direct  and  control  the  college,  and  one  may  hope  that,  notwithstanding  the  difficult 
and  trying  situation  in  which  these  trustees  may  find  themselves,  they  will  deal  with 
this  question  manfully,  patriotically,  and  from  the  standpoint  of  educational  judg- 
ment, not  from  the  standpoint  of  institutional  sentiment. 

Wholesome  and  earnest  as  is  the  student  life  in  the  main  in  these  three  institu- 
tions, there  is  one  side  of  it  that  needs  far  more  consideration  at  the  hands  of  those 
in  charge  of  them.  This  is  the  dormitory  life  and  the  problem  of  supplying  a  whole- 
some and  simple  diet. 

Few  factors  in  the  life  of  a  young  man  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty- 
two  have  more  influence  than  the  day-by-day  environment  of  the  room  in  which  he 
lives.  While  the  conditions  in  the  three  colleges  are  not  quite  the  same  in  this  re- 
gard, it  is  fair  to  say  that  in  none  of  them  does  the  dormitory  life  furnish  an  ele- 
ment in  the  student's  betterment.  Conducted  generally  under  the  practical  direction 
of  the  young  men  themselves,  the  dormitories  present  an  environment  of  carelessness 
and  disorder  that  cannot  fail  to  have  its  effect  on  the  student.  A  college  is  intended 
to  develop  the  whole  man.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  four  years  of  Latin  and 
mathematics  and  science  in  the  class-room  can  overcome  the  effect  of  a  living-room 
untidy  and  ill  kept.  Simplicity  and  order  are  neither  expensive  nor  difficult  to  ob- 
tain. They  ought  to  form  part  of  the  college  training.  There  is  no  better  place  to 
inculcate  them  than  in  the  rooms  in  which  students  live.  If  the  college  will  set  itself 
to  deal  with  this  matter,  it  will  use  one  of  the  most  powerful  educational  agencies 
within  its  reach,  and  one  that  does  not  call  for  more  money.  If  the  college  oversight 
would  go  a  step  farther  and  do  something  to  educate  the  taste  of  its  students 
in  the  matter  of  the  wall  decorations  in  their  rooms,  it  would  take  a  real  step  in  the 


OUTLOOK  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT  209 

development  of  that  culture  that  looks  toward  true  gcntlemanliness.  No  other  lesson 
is  better  worth  the  college  effort  than  that  of  showing  its  students  how  to  join  good 
taste  with  simplicity  and  economy.  Not  alone  in  these  colleges,  but  in  most  American 
colleges,  there  is  to-day  little  or  no  effort  in  this  direction. 

In  comparison  with  the  men's  dormitories,  those  of  the  young  women  are  neat, 
orderly,  and  well  kept. 

The  problem  of  supplying  wholesome  and  simple  food  to  students  under  good  con- 
ditions is  a  more  difficult  question,  and  one  involving  a  larger  financial  responsibility. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  one  deserving  of  serious  consideration.  To  conduct,  in  the  presence 
of  rising  prices,  a  college  commons  at  a  modest  rate  is  no  easy  task.  It  is,  however, 
rather  a  question  of  efficient  organization  and  oversight  than  of  large  capital. 

Such  questions  as  these  have  hitherto  been  relegated  to  the  rear  in  determining 
the  policy  of  American  colleges.  During  the  past  decade  an  enormous  expansion  of 
the  colleges  has  taken  place,  both  in  the  courses  taught  and  in  the  student  attend- 
ance. The  college  machinery  has  been  organized  with  the  purpose  of  getting  stu- 
dents into  college  rather  than  with  settling  the  question  of  how  they  should  be  dealt 
with  when  once  there.  If  for  the  next  decade  the  American  college  will  turn  its  atten- 
tion to  the  intensive  cultivation  of  its  present  field  rather  than  to  the  acquisition 
of  larger  numbers,  the  happiest  results  will  follow. 


XVI 

PROGRAM  OF  REORGANIZATION 

The  following  statement  presents  the  summarized  conclusions  of  the  enquiiy  from  a 
point  of  view  varying  somewhat  from  that  which  determined  the  method  of  treatment 
pursued  in  the  foregoing  report.  It  is  here  sought  to  lay  out  a  provisional  program  for 
constructive  action  in  the  field  to  which,  it  is  believed,  state  educational  activities  in 
Vermont  may  profitably  be  directed.  This  tabulation  is  not,  therefore,  an  exhaustive 
index  to  the  findings  of  the  report,  nor  are  all  points  here  mentioned  given  full  and 
systematic  discussion  in  the  preceding  sections. 

I.  General  Policies: 

1.  The  application  of  all  state  school  funds  and  appropriations  for  education  in 
about  their  present  amount  to  the  development  of  an  efficient  elementary  and 
secondary  school  system. 

2.  The  withdrawal,  therefore,  of  state  subsidies  from  all  higher  institutions  not 
o^vned  and  controlled  by  the  state. 

3.  The  concentration  in  a  State  Board  of  Education  of  full  powers  for  the  regu- 
lation and  disposition  of  all  state  moneys  for  education,  subject  to  the  biennial 
appropriatiojij^  by  the  legislature. 

II.  Measures  for  Legislative  Enactment: 

1.  The  creation  of  a  State  Board  of  Education  consisting  of  five  members  to  be 
appointed  by  the  governor,  one  member  to  be  appointed  each  year  for  a  term 
of  five  years,  subject  to  removal  by  the  governor  on  charges  publicly  filed  with 
the  secretary  of  state.  The  members  of  this  board  shall  be  representative  citi- 
zens not  professionally  engaged  in  education  or  interested  directly  in  any 
educational  institution;  they  shall  serve  without  pay.  This  board  shall  be  a 
governing  and  not  an  administrative  board;  its  duties  shall  be: 

(1)  To  appoint  an  executive  officer  to  be  known  as  the  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation, through  whom  alone  its  oversight  of  the  educational  affiiirs  of  the 
state  shall  be  conducted  ;  to  fix  his  salary,  and  in  the  event  of  the  unsat- 
isfactory performance  of  his  duties,  to  remove  him. 

(2)  To  appoint  upon  the  nomination  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education, 
and  upon  his  motion  to  remove,  all  other  officers  necessary  to  the  effective 
administration  of  the  Department  of  Education,  and  to  fix  their  salaries. 

(3)  To  act  in  all  matters  after  advising  with  the  Commissioner  of  Education, 
who  for  this  purpose  shall  be  ex  officio  a  non-voting  member  of  the  board; 
to  give  validity  by  its  sanction  to  approved  proposals  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Education. 

(4)  To  prepare  and  submit  to  each  legislature  a  budget  of  educational  ex- 
penses for  the  ensuing  biennium. 


PROGRAM  OF  REORGANIZATION  211 

(3)  To  regulate  completely  the  distribution  of  school  funds. 

{(i)  To  see  to  the  enforcement  of  all  laws  pertaining  to  schools  or  education. 

(7)  To  classify  schools;  to  establish  uniform  records  and  reports;  to  determine 
the  qualifications  of  teachers,  their  certification  for  elementary,  second- 
ary, and  special  schools,  and  the  recognition  of  certificates  and  diplomas 
from  other  states. 

(8)  To  exercise  complete  oversight  and  control  in  schools  owned  by  the  state 
and  in  educational  departments  in  other  state  institutions;  in  schools 
aided  by  the  state  to  exercise  such  oversight  as  may  be  necessary  to  safe- 
guard the  conditions  upon  which  aid  is  granted. 

(9)  To  devise  necessary  agencies  both  for  the  initial  training  of  teachers  and 
for  their  professional  advancement  in  service. 

(10)  To  consider  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the  whole  body  of  teachers  in  the 
state  and,  if  desirable,  to  undertake  the  establishment  of  a  retirement  or 
pension  fund  for  their  benefit. 

(11)  To  study  the  educational  needs  of  the  state  and  to  take  steps  to  provide 
adequate  facilities  for  such  vocational  or  other  training  as  may  be  con- 
sidered advantageous. 

(12)  To  establish  in  cooperation  with  the  State  Board  of  Health  standards  for 
the  construction,  arrangement,  and  sanitary  equipment  of  school  build- 
ings and  school  sites;  and  to  direct  the  medical  inspection  and  study  of 
public  health  in  so  far  as  schools  are  concerned. 

(13)  To  give  state-wide  publicity  to  accurate  and  comprehensive  information 
regarding  the  educational  facilities  both  within  and  without  the  state. 

(14)  To  make  an  annual  report  to  the  governor  of  its  acts,  together  with  an 
itemized  account  of  its  expenditures  of  school  appropriations. 

2.  The  transfer  to  the  State  Board  of  Education  thus  created  of  the  powers  and 
duties  now  belonging  to  the  present  Board  of  Education,  to  the  Trustees  of 
the  Permanent  School  Fund,  to  the  Trustees  of  the  State  School  of  Agricul- 
ture at  Randolph,  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  State  School  for  Feeble- 
minded, to  the  Commissioner  of  the  Deaf,  Blind,  Idiotic,  and  Feeble-minded 
Children  of  Indigent  Parents,  and  to  the  State  Board  of  Penal  Institutions, 
in  so  far  as  the  Industrial  School  is  concerned  ;  and  the  enlargement  of  such 
powers  and  duties  to  full  discretion  and  control  in  each  of  these  respective 
fields. 

3.  The  discontinuance  of  the  normal  schools  now  conducted  at  Johnson  and 
Castleton. 

4.  The  repeal  of  all  laws  inconsistent  with  the  intent  of  the  above  recommended 
legislation. 

III.  The  Administrative  Policy  of  the  State  Board  of  Education: 
1.  General  Features: 


212  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

(1)  The  appointment,  with  adequate  salary,  of  an  executive  capable  of  exercising 
the  foremost  educational  leadership  in  the  state. 

(2)  The  appointment  of  a  sufficient  number  of  trained  inspecting  and  supervising 
officers  to  make  the  policy  of  the  Board  of  Education  understood  and  effective 
in  every  school. 

(3)  The  maintenance  of  an  education  department  equipped  for  the  appropriate 
handling  and  educational  use  of  records,  reports,  and  accounts,  as  well  as  for 
the  proper  transaction  of  the  business  of  the  executive  staff. 

(4)  The  use  of  the  classification  of  schools,  the  regulations  for  the  distribution  of 
school  funds,  the  qualification  and  certification  of  teachers,  and  all  other  ad- 
ministrative measures  as  means  for  securing  the  greatest  possible  educational 
activity  and  efficiency  throughout  the  state. 

(5)  The  provision  for  a  trustworthy  school  census,  supervised  by  local  superintend- 
ents and  giving  information  having  educational  importance. 

(6)  The  introduction  of  a  simple  and  uniform  system  of  school  reports  and  school 
accounting  for  teachers,  school  committees,  and  other  town  officers  concerned. 

2.  The  Elementary  Schools: 

(1)  The  award  to  towns  of  state  aid  in  any  form  only  for  schools  complying  with 
state  regulations  in  respect  to  hygiene  of  grounds  and  buildings,  qualifications 
and  salaries  of  teachers,  and  character  of  equipment  and  maintenance. 

(2)  The  award  to  heavily  taxed  and  needy  towns,  fully  complying  with  state  reg- 
ulations, of  a  differential  aid  tending  to  equalize  the  school  expenditure  per 
pupil  according  to  a  standard  to  be  determined  by  the  board. 

(3)  Sufficient  inspection  on  the  part  of  state  supervising  officers  to  give  the  local 
superintendents  the  benefit  of  their  experience  and  influence,  and  to  protect 
the  conditions  on  which  the  state  board  grants  aid. 

(4)  The  guarantee  in  every  school  of  a  school  year  having  a  standard  length  to  be 
determined  by  the  board. 

(5)  The  complete  elimination  of  the  ninth  grade. 

(6)  An  immediate  revision  and  standardization  of  the  curriculum,  providing  each 
teacher  with  a  clearly  detailed  and  feasible  program  of  work  suited  to  the 
locality. 

(7)  The  abolition  of  the  free  tuition  examination  so  soon  as  a  curriculum  is  avail- 
able and  state  inspection  has  been  well  established. 

(8)  The  requirement  that  in  return  for  state  aid  the  problems  of  consolidation  and 
transportation  be  submitted  to  officers  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  for 
adjustment,  thus  giving  each  town  the  benefit  of  the  general  experience. 

3.  The  Secondary  Schools: 

(1)  A  classification  of  high  schools  on  the  basis  of  sustained  excellence  of  equip- 
ment and  operation. 

(2)  The  award  of  state  aid  only  to  high  schools  complying  with  the  board's  regula- 
tions in  respect  to  hygienic  conditions  of  grounds  and  buildings,  character  of 


PROGRAM  OF  REORGANIZATION  213 

equipment  and  maintenance,  qualifications,  salaries,  and  service  of  teachers, 
and  nature  and  extent  of  curriculum. 

(3)  Constant,  systematic  inspection  on  the  part  of  a  competent  state  officer. 

(4)  The  use  of  school  funds  to  develop  a  few  carefully  selected  high  schools  as  cen- 
tral or  regional  institutions  affording  enlarged  opportunities  during  the  last 
two  years  of  the  course,  together  with  adequate  vocational  facilities,  particu- 
larly in  agriculture,  in  their  junior  divisions. 

(5)  The  reorganization  by  the  same  means  of  the  remaining  high  schools  into  junior 
high  schools  offering  a  four-year  course  beginning  with  the  seventh  grade  and 
including  the  first  two  years  of  the  present  high  school. 

(6)  The  thorough  revision  of  the  curriculum  to  meet  the  new  lines  of  organization 
and  to  secure  more  varied,  more  appropriate,  and  more  elastic  courses. 

4.  Vocational  Schools: 

(1)  Modifications  in  the  curricula  of  the  elementary  schools  and  of  the  junior  high 
schools  with  a  view  to  securing  a  sympathetic  attitude  toward  vocational  train- 
ing. 

(2)  The  establishment  in  the  junior  division  of  all  the  proposed  central  high  schools 
of  thorough  vocational  courses  in  agriculture,  and  later,  of  other  promising 
forms  of  vocational  training. 

(3)  The  extension  of  vocational  courses  in  the  upper  years  of  the  proposed  central 
high  schools  as  conditions  may  require. 

(4)  The  gradual  development  of  distinct  vocational  schools  in  agriculture  and 
other  trades. 

5.  Supervision: 

(1)  The  extension  of  the  present  system  of  union  superintendents,  with  increased 
emphasis  upon  their  qualifications  and  salaries. 

(2)  The  gradual  enlargement  of  their  districts  to  coincide  with  the  proposed  re- 
gional high  school  districts. 

(3)  The  eventual  consolidation  of  such  districts  into  compact  administrative  units 
including  all  schools  under  one  competent  head. 

6.  The  Training  and  Certification  of  Teachers : 

(1)  The  intensive  development  in  high  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  state  of  training- 
classes  for  elementary  teachers. 

(2)  The  eventual  establishment  of  a  single  high  grade  teachers'  training-school  to 
prepare  teachers  for  the  junior  high  schools  and  for  higher  grade  positions,  to 
bring  leadership  and  unity  to  the  work  of  the  training-classes,  and  to  afford  per- 
manent facilities  for  summer  schools  and  special  courses  for  teachers  in  service. 

(3)  The  regulation  of  financial  aid  primarily  with  a  view  to  ensuring  the  employ- 
ment of  good  teachers. 

(4)  An  increase  in  the  qualifications  required  of  secondary  school  teachers  in  re- 
spect to  (a)  concentration  of  preparation  on  the  subjects  that  are  to  be  taught; 
(6)  experience  in  teaching  under  competent  professional  criticism. 


214  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

(5)  Modification  of  the  system  of  certifying  teachers  in  favor  of  (a)  shorter  term 
certificates  commensurate  with  the  degree  of  preparation ;  (b)  the  principle  of 
probationary  certification,  with  extension  only  after  competent  inspection  in 
service. 


PART  III 

STATISTICS 

INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

LETTER  TO  CITIZENS  OF  VERMONT  WITH  TABULAR  ANALYSIS  OF  REPLIES 

GENERAL  STATISTICS  OF  VERMONT  FOR  THE  FIVE  DECADES,  I86O-I9IO 
1.  TOTAL  population;  3.  SCHOOL  POPULATION;  3.  SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE;  4.  INDUSTRIAL  POP- 
ULATION; 5.  FINANCIAL  CONDITION 
(a)  wealth  ;  (b)  assessed  valuation  ;  (c)  census  valuation  of  national  wealth 

SCHOOL  FINANCES  IN  VERMONT  IN  I912 

1.  SUMMARY  OF  GRAND  LISTS;  2.  PERCENTAGE  OF  THE  GRAND  LIST  LEVIED  BY  THE  VARIOUS 
TOWNS  FOR  SCHOOL  PURPOSES;  3.  PER  CAPITA  YIELD  OF  THE  SCHOOL  TAX  IN  THE  SEVERAL 
TOWNS 

BUDGET  OF  THE  FINANCIAL  EXPENDITURES  FOR  SCHOOLS  AND  EDUCA- 
TION IN  1911-12 

PROPORTIONAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  CURRENT  EXPENSES  IN  1911-12 

THE  VERMONT  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  1912-13 

SUPERVISION:  SALARIES  OF  TOWN  AND  UNION  SUPERINTENDENTS 

THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  :  THE  TEACHERS 

(a)  age;  (b)  expebience;  (c)  weekly  salaries;  (d)  annual  salaries 

THE  SECONDARY"  SCHOOLS 

1.  classification;  2.  comparison  of  selected  factors  of  efficiency  in  large  and  small  schools  ; 

3.  comparison  of  the  cost  of  instruction  in  large  and  small  schools;  4.  TABULAR  view  of  the 

size  of  CLASSES;  6.  PERSONALIA  OF  PRINCIPALS;  6.  PERSONALIA  OF  FULL-TIME  TEACHERS  (EXCLUSIVE  OF 
principals);  7.  THE  COLLEGES  WHERE  PRINCIPALS  AND  TEACHERS  WERE  TRAINED;  8.  COMPARATIVE  VIEW 
OF  THE  WEEKLY  NUMBER  OF  RECITATION  PERIODS  REQUIRED  OF  PRINCIPALS  AND  TEACHERS,  TOGETHER 
WITH  THE  AVERAGE  MEMBERSHIP  OF  THEIR  CLASSES;  9.  THE  SALARIES  OF  PRINCIPALS  AND  THE  AVERAGE 
SALARIES  OF  FULL-TIME  TEACHERS 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  ATTENDANCE  ON  THE  HIGHER  INSTITUTIONS  BY  COUN- 
TIES 

1.   UNIVERSITY  OF  VERMONT;  2.    MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE;  3.   NORWICH  UNIVERSITY 

RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  VERMONT  STATE  BOARD  OF  HEALTH  RELA- 
TIVE TO  SCHOOLS 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

The  material  included  in  the  following  pages  constitutes  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
statistical  data  gathered  by  the  agents  of  the  enquiry.  At  every  point  in  the  study 
where  such  information  was  available  the  effort  was  made  to  assemble  and  consider 
fully  the  statistical  facts  before  proceeding  to  conclusions.  In  most  cases  the  results 
appear  in  summarized  form  either  in  the  text  or  in  the  footnotes  of  Part  II.  Where 
it  was  felt  that  the  complete  array  would  prove  of  particular  interest  it  has  been 
printed  in  full  herewith. 

A  large  part  of  the  material  from  which  much  had  been  expected  proved,  when  sub- 
jected to  careful  scrutiny,  to  be  untrustworthy.  The  statistics  contained  in  the  bien- 
nial school  reports  are  frequently  of  this  nature.  These  large  and  impressive  volumes, 
published  for  many  years,  contain  the  biennial  report  of  the  superintendent  of  edu- 
cation, which  is  usually  a  message  of  state-wide  importance.  To  this  is  attached,  how- 
ever, a  mass  of  uninterpreted  statistical  detail  having  little  practical  value.  The  data 
are  gathered  through  well-worn  channels  from  various  sources,  chiefly  from  the  clerks 
of  the  towns.  The  forms  on  which  they  are  returned  are  antiquated;  the  questions  are 
frequently  confusing  to  those  who  are  asked  to  answer  them,  and  lead  easily  to  error. 
Where  the  returns  should  correspond  with  those  from  other  sources  there  are  wide  dis- 
crepancies. Some  items  are  without  importance,  and  occasionally  the  results  are  wholly 
misleading  because  of  duplication.  It  is  impossible  from  such  data  to  construct  ac- 
curate comparative  statistics. 

At  present  the  state  education  department  is  not  prepared  to  collect  or  to  deal  with 
such  material  in  the  proper  way.  The  superintendent  of  education  is  too  heavily  bur- 
dened already  to  undertake  such  work,  and  he  is  provided  with  no  adequate  staff  or 
funds  for  the  purpose.  If  the  recommendations  already  outlined  elsewhere  are  carried 
into  effect,  the  whole  matter  will  be  placed  in  charge  of  a  trained  assistant  who  under- 
stands somewhat  of  the  educational  significance  of  his  duties,  and  he  will  be  provided 
with  ample  clerical  facilities.  The  forms  should  be  thoroughly  revised  and  simplified. 
Even  so  it  will  require  constant  watchfulness  in  securing  and  checking  up  the  results. 
It  is  possible  that  all  except  the  financial  information  should  be  supplied  directly  by 
the  local  educational  authorities  instead  of  by  the  town  clerks.  In  any  case  the  pub- 
lished educational  statistics  should  be  simple,  clear,  and  consistent;  as  far  as  they  go, 
they  should  represent  the  situation  truthfully  and  accurately,  and  should  furnish  a 
sound  and  convincing  argument  for  the  projected  policies  of  the  department. 

Statistical  comparisons  of  Vermont  with  other  states,  in  respect  to  educational  facts, 
are  withheld  for  reasons  similar  to  those  which  make  comparative  statistics  of  state 
facts  questionable.  Until  some  uniformity  can  be  introduced  into  state  accounting,  so 
that  the  homogeneous  and  comparable  character  of  gross  sums  can  be  assured,  com- 
parative financial  displays  are  certain  to  be  unreliable.  Moreover,  even  if  it  were  pos- 
sible to  depend  upon  the  figures,  the  mere  comparison  of  expenditures  between  states 


218  EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 

must  serve  inevitably  to  flatter  or  wound  state  pride  without  reference  to  the  signifi- 
cance or  justice  of  the  relative  situation.  To  be  of  genuine  service,  a  comparison  must 
be  as  accurate  and  complete  in  its  definition  of  the  problem  with  which  each  state  is 
confronted  as  it  is  in  its  record  of  the  means  taken  to  solve  it.  That  Vermont  appor- 
tions six  per  cent  of  its  entire  school  expenditure  for  the  transportation  of  pupils  while 
another  state  uses  but  two  per  cent  for  that  purpose  is,  by  itself,  a  wholly  blind  com- 
parison. For  profitable  information  of  this  sort,  therefore,  we  must  await  not  only 
accurate  and  uniform  accounting  systems,  but  also  the  scientific  appraisal,  in  com- 
parable terms,  of  the  educational  situation  with  which  each  state  has  to  deal.  Until 
such  material  is  available  to  show  in  identical  terms  the  extent  to  which  various  states 
provide  for  meeting  identical  needs,  it  behooves  each  state  to  attack  its  actual  situa- 
tion not  by  imitation  of  others,  but  in  the  spirit  of  intelligent  independence. 

In  order  to  afford  opportunity  for  the  free  expression  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  those 
best  fitted  to  judge  of  Vermont's  educational  conditions  and  needs,  the  following  letter 
was  sent  by  the  Educational  Commission  to  about  two  thousand  persons,  including 
union  and  town  superintendents,  members  of  school  boards,  principals  and  teachers 
in  high  schools,  teachers  in  elementary  schools,  and  a  large  number  of  representative 
citizens  not  directly  connected  with  education. 

Montpelier,  Vermont,  May  10, 1913. 
In  your  best  judgment,  what  are  the  two  or  three  essential  matters  that  should 
first  I'eceive  attention  in  order  to  enable  the  schools  of  Vermont  to  render  the 
most  effective  service  to  the  children  and  to  the  people  of  the  state.? 

Will  you  please  answer  at  your  early  convenience  the  above  question,  which  is 
being  submitted  at  this  time  to  a  number  of  the  representative  citizens  of  Ver- 
mont by  the  Educational  Commission,  recently  created  by  the  legislature  to  un- 
dertake an  investigation  of  the  educational  system  and  conditions  of  the  state.? 
The  Commission  realizes  the  great  value  of  the  mature  judgment  of  those  cit- 
izens of  the  state  who  stand  nearest  to  its  activities  and  institutions,  and  who 
desire  to  conserve  its  best  interests. 

Assuring  you  of  our  appreciation,  I  am 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

John  H.  Watson,  Chairman. 

The  replies  to  this  letter  aiTanged  in  order  according  to  the  numerical  strength  of 
the  various  suggestions  appear  in  the  following  table: 


STATISTICS 


219 


w-S 

■S 

«  o 

b'o 

.c  o 

U  o 

« 

•« 

1^« 

V.  0 

.1 

0 

5 

Si  £ 

1i 

^  J. 
■«  S; 

^  S 

1^ 

a, 

e 

0 

•0 

1 

3 

e 

li 

e 

^ 

^^ 

^^ 

a.S 

JS 

0 

^ 

(SiL 

e 

Better  trained  teachers 

125 

33 

22 

10 

12 

29 

12 

7C 

)     313 

Higher  salaries  for  teachers 

41 

20 

21 

11 

11 

12 

6 

34 

t     156 

More  efficient  supervision 

38 

11 

11 

8 

5 

14 

11 

5( 

)      148 

Cooperation  with  home 

43 

16 

16 

10 

10 

2 

9 

If 

>      121 

Consolidation  of  small  rural  schools 

40 

9 

12 

2 

1 

17 

6 

21 

.      108 

More  practical  courses 

23 

12 

12 

13 

10 

1 

2 

24 

t       97 

Better  saniUiry  conditions 

31 

11 

20 

4 

4 

6 

' 

r       83 

Better  buildings 

31 

8 

5 

8 

2 

6 

3 

ir 

\       76 

Agricultural  education 

21 

6 

6 

8 

7 

3 

li 

$       69 

Better  grading 

15 

5 

14 

9 

6 

2 

6 

i( 

)       67 

Stress  on  three  "  R's  " 

24 

4 

7 

2 

4 

3 

i{ 

)       63 

Uniform  courses  of  study 

10 

8 

5 

6 

3 

8 

7 

i( 

)       57 

Better  morals 

17 

5 

3 

6 

3 

1 

1^ 

V       51 

Longer  term  of  school 

18 

12 

9 

3 

1 

i 

1 

I 

V       49 

Better  enforcement  of  compulsory  attendance 

17 

2 

3 

3 

2 

7 

1 

1] 

I        46 

More  school  supplies  and  libraries 

7 

7 

8 

6 

5 

2 

6 

41 

Vocational  training 

10 

5 

5 

5 

5 

2 

i 

I        40 

Medical  inspection  and  physical  education 

10 

4 

7 

3 

3 

1 

1 

r     36 

More  care  in  selection  of  text-books 

5 

14 

2 

1 

1 

i       26 

Manual  training  and  domestic  science 

5 

2 

3 

5 

5 

\ 

J        25 

Legislation  to  aid  in  establishing  central  and  union 

schools  — pay  higher  salaries,  etc. 

7 

3 

3 

1 

1 

1 

1 

17 

Special  attention  to  raising  standard  of  smaller  schools 

2 

1 

1 

)        13 

College  requirements  — distinction 

6 

2 

I 

5        13 

Less  cramming 

3 

"i 

"2 

3 

1 

] 

1        11 

Longer  term  of  office  for  teachers 

3 

4 

1 

"i 

1        10 

No  conveyance  paid 

6 

2          8 

Fewer  text-books  and  more  practice  work 

3 

"2 

i 

I          7 

Higher  age  limit  for  children 

1 

i 

2 

"2 

6 

Closer  supervision  of  playgrounds  by  teachers 

1 

1 

1 

1 

L          5 

No  consolidation 

2 

I          4 

Advanced  mathematics,  bookkeeping,  and  English  lit- 

erature 

3 

1 

.... 

4 

Repeal  of  laws  prohibiting  corporal  punishment  — bet- 

ter discipline 

t          4 

More  attractive  arrangement  of  studies 

1 

i 

1 

3 

Civil  government 

1 

1 

1 

3 

No  state  permits  for  teachers 

1 

1 

1 

3 

Regent  system 

1 

1          2 

Fund  to  enable  impoverished  children  to  remain  in  school 

1 

i 

2 

Pensions 

1 

i 

2 

A  board  to  make  out  and  correct  examination  papers 

2 

2 

A  higher  standard  for  schools,  and  laws  to  compel  its 

observance 

1 

1 

2 

More  town  and  less  state  control 

1 

1          2 

Economy  on  part  of  teachers  and  scholars  in  use  of 

school  supplies 

2 

2 

Music 

1 

"  i 

2 

Oral  recitation 

1 

Immoral  children  removed  from  school 

1 

School  laws  based  on  new  tax  laws 

1 

Condense  school  laws 

1 

No  home  town  teachers 

1 

More  teachers  on  special  subjects 

1 

Uniform  entrance  examinations  for  all  high  schools 

1 

Old  method  of  teaching  languages 

"l 

Distribution  of  state  money  per  capita,  for  each  scholar 

attaining  certain  requirements 

1 

1 

Total  number  of  letters  sent 

725 

153 

180 

96 

68 

57 

57 

78 

5    2139 

Total  number  of  replies  received 

235 

73 

82 

56 

39 

54 

38 

37 

2     940 

220 


EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


GENERAL  STATISTICS  OF  VERMONT 
1.  Total  Population 


Total 

Rural 

Urban 

Native 

Foreign 

Population 

Males 

Females 

Population 

Population 

Born 

Born 

I860 

315,098 

158,786 

156,312 

282,355 

32,743 

1870 

330,551 

165,721 

164,830 

283,396 

47,155 

1880 

332,286 

166,887 

165,399 

291,327 

40,959 

1890 

332,422 

169,327 

163,095 

215,359 

117.063 

288,334 

44.088 

1900 

343,641 

175,138 

168,503 

204,461 

139,180 

298.894 

4:4:.Til 

1910 

356.966 

182,568 

173,388 

187,013 

168,943 

306,035 

49,921 

2.  School  Population 


Between 

the  Ages 

Total 

Boys 

Girls 

I860 

5-15 

68,976 

35,060 

33,916 

5-20 

102.634 

52,192 

50,442 

1870 

5-18 

89,831 

45,667 

44,164 

1880 

5-14 

67.726 

34,633 

33,093 

5-19 

99.463 

50,520 

48,943 

1890 

5-17 

81,957 

42,251 

39,706 

5-20 

101,457 

52,340 

49.117 

1900 

6-14 

62,025 

31,405 

30,620 

5-19 

93,495 

47,140 

46,355 

1910 

5-14 

64,108 

32,367 

31,741 

6-19 

95,269 

48,489 

46,780 

3.  School  Attendance 


I860 

1870 

1880 

1890-91 

1900 

1910 


Total 
79,565 
72,199 
73,237 
65,608* 
60,082 
66.845 


Boys 
41,363 
38,813 
37,300 

30,326 
33,449 


Girls 
38,202 
33,386 
35.937 

29,756 
33,396 


4.  Industrial  Population 

Professional 


Transpor- 

and Personal 

Agriculture 

tation 

Services 

Manufacturing 

Minin 

1860 

{Combined) 

1870 

57.983 

7,132 

21,032 

22,616 

1880 

55,251 

8,945 

28,174 

26,214 

1890 

56,183 

14,551 

28,335 

29,702 

1900 

49,820 

18,889 

30.544 

36,180 

5,398 

1910 

33,788 

8,388 

Farms 
1860 
1870 
1880 

1890  $101,805,370 
1900  108,451,427 
1910     145,399,728 


Quarries 


$5,904,705 
8,221,323 
(product) 


5.  Financial  Condition 

(a)  WEALTH 


Manufacturing 
Establishments 
$14,637,807 
32,184.606 
31,3.54,366 
38,340,066 
57,623,815 
68,310,000 
(product) 


1900 


Real  Property 

Live  Stock  and  Farm  Equipment 
Manufacturing 
Trade 
Bullion 
Miscellaneous 
Total 


$184,153,290 
26,927,890 
11,682,873 
39,374,071 
6,312,728 
61.465.956 

$329,916,808 


1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 


(b) 


ASSESSED   VALUATION 


Real  Property 
$70,341,721 
80,993,100 
71,114,747 
112,895,125 
118,950,024 
143,386,564 


Personal  Property 
$16,530,130 
21,555,428 
15,037,262 
49,203,388 
40,884,198 
45,106,982 


(c)  CENSUS  VALUATION  OF  NATIONAL  WEALTH 


1860 

(taxable) 

$122,477,170 

1870 

(taxable  gold  basis) 

188,279,642 

(taxable  currency  basis) 

235.349.553 

1880 

all 

302,000,000 

1890 

all 

265,567,323 

1900 

all 

329,916,808 

1904 

all 

360,330,682 

'  These  statistics  are  based  on  the  U.  S.  Census  returns,  with  the  exception  of  those  marked  with  an  asterisk. 


STATISTICS 


221 


SCHOOL  FINANCES  IN  VERMONT  IN  1912 


1.  Summary  OF  the  Grand  Lists^  of  the 

268  Taxing  Units  in  Vermont  in 

1912 


Atnount  of  Grand 
List 

Number  of  towns 
or  tax  units 

$342- 

$1,000 

9 

1,001- 

2,000 

25 

2,001- 

3,000 

37 

3.001- 

4,000 

34 

4,001- 

5,000 

43 

5,001- 

6,000 

23 

6,001- 

7,000 

15 

7,001- 

8,000 

19 

8,001- 

9,000 

12 

9,001- 

10,000 

11 

10,001- 

15.000 

17 

15,001- 

25.000 

12 

25.001- 

50.000 

5 

50.001- 

100.000 

5 

167,588 

1 

2.  Percentage  of  the  Grand  List  levied 

FOR  School  Purposes  in  1912  in  the 

268  Taxing  Units  in  Vermont 


Percentage  of 
Orand  List 

Number  of  tovma 
or  tax  units 

20-  29 

4 

30-  39 

10 

40-  49 

12 

50-  59 

70 

60-  69 

73 

70-    79 

65 

80-  89 

13 

90-  99 

7 

100-109 

8 

110-119 

4 

125 

1 

140 

1 

3.  Per  Capita  Yield  of  the  Local  Tax  Levy  for  School  Purposes  in  268  Towns 
and  Tax  Units  based  on  the  Number  of  Census  Children 

BETWEEN  5   and   17    YeARS  OF  AgE,   INCLUSIVE 


Amount  per 

Number  of  towns 

child 

or  tax  units 

$5.50- $6.49 

2 

6.50-  7.49 

2. 

7.50-  8.49 

4 

8.50-  9.49 

5 

9.50-10.49 

10 

10.50-11.49 

12 

11.50-12.49 

18 

12.50-13.49 

19 

13.50-14.49 

26 

14.60-15.49 

28 

15.50-16.49 

22 

16.50-17.49 

20 

17.50-18.49 

8 

18.50-19.49 

14 

19.50-20.49 

9 

20.50-21.49 

10 

21.50-22.49 

7 

22.50-23.49 

8 

Amount  per 
child 

Number  of  towns 
or  tax  units 

$23.50-124.49 

8 

24.50-25.49 

6 

25.50-26.49 

6 

26.50-27.49 

6 

27.50-28.49 

2 

28.50-29.49 

1 

29.50-30.49 

3 

30.50-31.49 

2 

31.91 

32.75 

44.56 

45.45 

49.03 

51.02 

53.43 

65.87 

70.18 

83.91 

*  The  "  Grand  List "  in  Vermont  consists  of  one  per  cent  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  real  and  personal  property  plus 
the  ratable  polls. 


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EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


PROPORTIONAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  CURRENT  EXPENSES 
IN  Vermont  Public  Schools,  IQH-fS 


Total  expenditure  for  all  purposes,  including  local  supervi- 
sion, but  excluding  grounds  and  buildings  and  debts  on 
the  same 
Expended  for 

Teachers'  salaries 

Transportation  and  board 

Water,  fuel,  and  light 

Town  and  Union  superintendents 

Janitors 

Repairs 

Debts  on  current  expenses  of  1 91 0-11 

Tuition  for  advanced  instruction 

Miscellaneous  items 

Supplies  and  appliances 

Text-books 

Rent  and  insurance 

Furniture 

Tuitions  for  elementary  instruction 

School  directors 

Truant  officers 

State  aid  for  manual  training 

Medical  inspection 


$1,673,709.35 
Percentage 
57.86 
6.04 
5.14 
4.60 
4.03 
3.97 
3.68 
3.24 
2.86 
2.77 
2.45 

.96 

.78 
.67 
M 
.21 
.06 
.02 
100.00% 


THE  VERMONT  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN   1912-13 
Supervision;  Salaries  of  Town  and  Union  Superintendents 

Salary  Nujnher  receiving 


$1000-$! 249 
1250-  1499 
1500-  1749 
1750-  1999 
2000-  2249 
2250-  2499 
2500  and  over 


1 

19 

21 

8 

4 

2 

2 

57 


STATISTICS 


225 


The  Elementaey  Schools 


{a) 

Age  of  Elementary  Teachers  in 

/  A  \   Experience  of  Elementary  Teachers  in 
V^/          Vermont  Public  Schools,  1912-13 

Vermont  Public  Schools,  1912-13 

Age 

Number 

Age 

Number 

Experience 
in  Years 

City  Teachers 
Number 

Rural  Teachers 
Num.ber 

16 

2 

44 

16 

h 

2 

37 

17 

33 

45 

8 

i 

4 

79 

18 

142 

46 

14 

1 

33 

276 

19 

226 

47 

9 

2 

39 

208 

20 

201 

48 

4 

3 

36 

182 

21 

160 

49 

9 

4 

34 

162 

22 

153 

50 

9 

5 

46 

119 

23 

167 

51 

7 

6 

41 

62 

24 

116 

52 

10 

7 

29 

81 

26 

124 

53 

1 

8 

32 

56 

26 

93 

54 

5 

9 

36 

35 

27 

72 

55 

4 

10 

26 

48 

28 

80 

56 

2 

11 

18 

27 

29 

57 

57 

1 

12 

21 

27 

30 

44 

58 

6 

13 

14 

35 

31 

52 

59 

3 

14 

12 

22 

32 

28 

60 

2 

15 

17 

17 

33 

42 

61 

16 

11 

10 

34 

29 

62 

3 

17 

7 

8 

35 

34 

63 

18 

12 

8 

36 

30 

64 

19 

5 

9 

37 

29 

65 

1 

20 

21 

10 

38 

24 

66 

1 

21 

7 

8 

39 

25 

67 

1 

22 

7 

7 

40 

17 

68 

23 

5 

4 

41 

19 

69 

24 

4 

4 

42 

11 

70 

1 

25 

5 

3 

43 

12 

26 
27 
28 
29 

6 

1 
5 
5 

3 

1 

2 

(c)   Weekly  Salaries  of  Elementary  Teachers  in  Vermont  Public  Schools,  1912-13 


Salary ' 


$5.00 

5.50 

6.00 

6.50 

7.00 

7.50 

8.00 

8.50 

9.00 

9.50 

10.00 

10.50 

11,00 

11.50 

12.00 

12.50 

13.00 

13.50 

14.00 

14.50 

15.00 

15.50 

16.00 

16.50 

17.00 

17.50 

18.00 

18.50 

19.00 

19,50 

20.00 

20.50 

21.00 

21.50 

22.00 

22.50 

23.00 

23.50 

26.50 


Forward 


Number  of  Teachers 


City(&Village 
Schools 


10 

1 

22 

5 

21 

7 

61 

15 

78 

36 

36 

3a 

59 

31 

10 

27 

17 

9 

9 

4 

3 

2 

4 

1 

2 

2 


517 


Rural 
Schools 


15 

5 

11 

3 

61 

139 

345 

150 

306 

63 

265 

22 

79 

8 

56 

11 

20 

2 

5 

9 
1 
1 
1 

1 
4 

1 
1 


1,586 


Total 


15 

5 

15 

3 

71 

140 

367 

155 

327 

70 

326 

37 

157 

44 

92 

47 

79 

33 

15 

27 

26 

10 

10 

5 

3 

3 

8 

1 

3 

3 


2,103 


Salary 


Brought  forward 

$29.00 

31.50 


Total 


Number  of  Teachers 


City<&  Village 
Schools 


517 


518 


Rural 
Schools 


1,586 
1 


1,587 


Total 


2,103 

1 
1 


2,105 


(d) 


Annual  Salaries  of  Elementary  Teachers  in 
Vermont  Public  Schools,  1912-13 


S150-§174 

11 

11 

175-  199 

6 

6 

200-  224 

6 

48 

54 

225-  249 

248 

248 

250-  274 

6 

277 

283 

275-  299 

17 

207 

224 

300-  324 

17 

200 

217 

325-  349 

13 

95 

108 

350-  374 

43 

102 

145 

375-  399 

46 

46 

92 

400-  424 

42 

29 

71 

425-  449 

62 

35 

97 

450-  474 

56 

25 

80 

475-  499 

28 

2 

30 

500-  524 

64 

4 

58 

525-  549 

42 

9 

51 

550-  574 

15 

15 

575-  599 

8 

4 

12 

600-  624 

20 

2 

22 

625-  649 

6 

7 

650-  674 

5 

6 

675-  699 

2 

2 

700-  724 

8 

9 

725-  749 

750-  774 

1 

2 

775-  799 

800-  824 

2 

3 

825  and  over 

3 

5 

Total 

501 

1.357 

1,858 

*  In  nearly  all  cases  salaries  below  $7  include  board. 


226 


EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


The  Secondary  Schools 
The  approved  high  schools  in  Vermont  are  grouped  below  according  to  the  number  of  full- 
time  teachers  employed,  and  are  classified  according  to  the  present  official  classification. 
Bellows  Academy  at  Fairfax  is  considei'ed  as  a  private  institution. 


Four  to  tiDenty-one  teachers  —  23 

Three  teachers — 17 

No.  of 

Enrolment 

Enrolment 

Class         Name 

Teachers 

1912-13 

Class         Name 

1912-13 

1       Burlington 

21 

382 

Barton 

106 

1      Rutland 

14 

427 

Windsor 

86' 

1      Barre 

10 

291 

Vergennes 

76 

1       Brattleboro 

10 

235 

Stowe 

75 

1       Bennington 

9 

178 

Bristol 

74 

1      Bellows  Fall 

i            8 

229 

N.  Bennington 

68 

1      Middlebury 

7 

186 

Bethel 

67 

1      Montpelier 

6 

163 

S.  Royalton 

65 

1      St.  Albans 

6 

160 

Johnson 

63 

1      Springfield 

6 

144 

Richford 

61 

1      Morrisville 

6 

125 

Enosburg  Falls 

60 

1      Woodstock 

6 

129 

Essex  Jet. 

56 

1      Randolph 

5 

127 

W.  Rutland 

55 

1      Northfield 

4 

101 

Pittsford 

53 

1      White  River 

Jet.      4 

101 

Waterbury 

51 

1       Hardwick 

5 

87 

Swan  ton 

48 

1       Fair  Haven 

4 

95 

Winooski 

31 

1      Newport 

4 

92 

1       Brandon 

4 

80 

1      Ludlow 

4 

77 

1      Proctor 

4 

65 

1      Chester 

4 

63 

1      Bradford 

4 

49 

3,386  64.2% 

1,095  19.6% 

Two  teachers — 18 

One 

teacher  — 19 

1     Hyde  Park 

51 

3 

Williamstown 

25 

1     Chelsea 

47 

3 

Waitsfield 

24 

1     Canaan 

41 

3 

Marshfield 

21 

1     Rochester 

40 

3 

Plainfield 

20 

1     Richmond 

40 

3 

Pawlet 

20 

1     Newbury 

40 

2 

Underbill 

16 

1     Wilmington 

37 

3 

Montgomery  Center 

16 

1     N.  Troy 

37 

3 

S.  Londonderry 

15 

1     Hinesburg 

37 

3 

Brookfield 

15 

1     Island  Pond 

36 

2 

Shorehara 

14 

1     Jericho 

35 

3 

Weston 

14 

1     Wells  River 

35 

3 

Cabot 

12 

1     Orleans 

32 

3 

Corinth 

11 

1     Franklin 

32 

3 

Proctorsville 

11 

3     Milton 

26 

3 

Wallingford 

11 

1     New  Haven 

20* 

3 

Gaysville 

10 

1     Highgate 

19 

4 

Benson 

10 

1     Danville 

18 

2 

Royalton 

10 

4 

Middletown  Springs 

5 

623  11.2% 

280  5% 

'  Enrolment  in  1911-12. 


Total  ^77 


STATISTICS 


227 


2.  Comparison  of  the  Large  and  Small  High  Schools  ix  Vermont  in  respect  to 

CERTAIN  SELECTED  P'aCTORS  OF  EFFICIENCY 


Schools 

Schools 

Schools 

Schools 

having  4-22 

having  2 

having  4-22 

having  2 

teachers 

teachers 

teachers 

teachers 

Percentage    of   college-trained 

Percentage    of    subjects  being 

principals  and  teachers 

95.4' 

80.5 

taught  with  advanced  college 

Percentage    of     inexperienced 

preparation 

36.3 

23 

principals  and  teachers 

11.6 

31 

Median  numberof  different  sub 

Percentage  of    new    principals 

jeets  taught  by  principals 

4 

7 

and  teachers 

32 

58 

Median!nunibcr  of  different  sub 

Percentage  of    subjects  taught 

jects  tjiught  by  teachers 

3 

6 

without  school  preparation 

5.9 

10.8 

Median  number  of  class  periods 

Percentage    of   subjects    being 

per  week  of  principals 

25 

39.5 

taught  with  high  school  prep- 

Median number  of  class  periods 

aration  only 

10.9 

25.5 

per  week  of  teachers 

28 

39.5 

Percentage   of    subjects   being 

Median  salary  of  principals 

$1,500.00 

$850.00 

taught  with  elementary  col- 

Median salary  of  teachers 

650.00 

447.50 

lege  preparation 

46.9 

40.7 

3.  Comparison  of  the  Large  and  Small  High  Schools  in  Vermont  in  respect  to  the 
Cost  per  Pupil  of  teaching  Senior  Latin  one  hour  per  week  through  the  Year 

("  Cost"  is  obtained  hy  dividing  the  amount  of  annual  salary  by  the  number  of  periods  of  instruction 
per  week  and  the  result  by  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  class) 


Schools  having  4  teachers  or  more                      | 

Schools  having  2  teachers 

Cost 

Salary 

Ciassperiods 
per  week 

Pupils 
in  class 

Cost 

Salary 

Ciassperiods 
per  veek 

Pupils 
in  class 

$1.08 

$650 

30 

20 

$2.53 

$800  = 

45 

73 

1.43 

500 

35 

10  3 

2.67 

360 

45 

33 

1.89 

850 

25 

18 

3.04 

500 

41 

43 

1.92 

444 

33 

73 

3.10 

418 

45 

33 

2.61 

1,700  2 

31 

21 3 

3.23 

540 

33 

5» 

2.66 

800 

30 

10^ 

5.77 

450 

39 

2» 

2.66 

1,800  = 

27 

25 

6.43 

810  = 

42 

33 

2.75 

1,000 

22 

16 

7.14 

1,000  = 

35 

4' 

2.78 

500 

30 

6 

7.26 

850  = 

39 

3 

3.09 

630 

34 

6 

8.00 

1,400  = 

35 

5' 

3.14 

550 

25 

7 

10.11 

445 

44 

1 

3.40 

850 

25 

10 

12.34 

432 

35 

1 

5.00 

600 

30 

4 

14.10 

550 

39 

1 

5.25 

1,050 

40 

5 

20.00 

900  = 

45 

1 

5.36 

1,500  2 

20 

14 

5.45 

1,500- 

25 

11^ 

6.51 

1,350== 

24 

10 

6.14 

600 

32 

3 

6.33 

418 

33 

23 

8.00 

1,000 

25 

5 

10.00 

1,400  2 

35 

4 

12.12 

1,600- 

22 

6 

15.48 

1,300  = 

21 

4 

Medians  $3.40 

.?850 

27 

7 

j          .S6.79 

$545 

40 

3 

4.  Size  of  Classes  in  Vermont  High  Schools 

{The  figures  indicate  percentages  of  the  total  at  the  bottom  of  the  column  in  each  case) 


Size  of  Class 

Schools  with  4  or 

Schools  with  3 

Schools  ivith  2 

Schools  with  1 

Total 

more  teachers 

teachers 

teachers 

teacher 

1-3 

5 

6 

14 

33 

10 

4-5 

5 

10 

17 

15 

10 

6-10 

16 

27 

40 

39 

26 

11-15 

15 

32 

19 

10 

19 

16-20 

21 

12 

10 

1 

14 

21-25 

20 

8 

2 

12 

Over  25 

18 

5 

9 

Total  Number  of  Classes 

748 

361 

328 

205 

1.642 

*  Excluding  those  who  teach  special  branches  —  commercial,  etc.,  not  given  by  special  teachers  in  the  smaller 
schools. 

=  Principal.  In  the  simple  reckoning  used  here,  "cost  "  includes  expense  of  supervision,  etc.,  expected  from  the  prin- 
cipal. To  be  strictly  comparable,  the  teachers  and  principals  should  be  grouped  by  themselves;  the  relation  is  the 
same,  however,  in  either  case.  ^  Seniors  and  juniors  combined  in  one  class. 


228 


EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


5.  Personalia  of  High  School  Principals  in  Vermont 


Schools 
with  4  or 

Schools 

Scliools 

Schools 

with  3 

ivith  2 

with  1 

Total 

Number,  Age,  and  Salarv 

more 
teachers 

teachers 

teache7-s 

teacher 

77 

23 

17 

18 

19 

1.  Number  of  men 

23 

17 

17 

9 

66 

(85.7%  of  77) 

2.  Number  of  women 

1 

10 

11 

(14.3%  of  77) 

3.  Total 

23 

17 

18 

19 

77 

4.  Median  age  of  men 

37 

33 

27 

25 

29.6 

5.  Median  age  of  women 

25 

26.5 

26 

6.  Median  age  of  group 

37 

33 

27 

26 

29 

7.  Median  salary  of  men 

§1,500.00 

$1,100.00 

$860.00 

$660.00 

$1,200.00 

8.  Median  salary  of  women 

.$684.00 

$475.00 

$504.00 

9.  Median  salary  of  group 

$1,500.00 

$1,100.00 

$860.00 

$540.00 

$1,000.00 

Training 

10.  Graduates  of  academies  and  high  schools  in  Vt. 

10 

8 

9 

13 

40 

(61.9%  of  77) 

11.  Graduates  of  academies  and  high  schools  else- 

where 

13 

8 

8 

6 

36 

12.  Graduates  of  normal  school 

2 

1 

3 

13.  Normal  school  non-graduates 

1 

1 

14.  Graduates  of  colleges  in  Vermont 

6 

6 

8 

5 

23 

(38.3%  of  60) 

15.  Graduates  of  colleges  elsewhere 

18 

7 

7 

5 

37 

(61.7%  of  60) 
(77.9%  of  77) 

16.  Total  graduates 

23 

12 

15 

10 

60 

17.  College  non-graduates 

3 

1 

3 

7 

(9.1%  of  77) 

18.  Without  college  training 

2 

2 

6 

10 

(13%  of  77) 

19.  Pedagogical  training  :  none 

19 

lOi 

12 

16 

67 

(76%  of  76) 

20.  Pedagogical  training  :  elementary 

3 

6 

6 

3 

18 

(23.7%  of  76) 

21.  Pedagogical  training  :  advanced 

1 

1 

(1.3%  of  76) 

22.  Attended  summer  schools 

12 

5 

6 

6 

28 

(36.8%  of  76) 

23.  Did  graduate  study 

3 

1 

4 

(5.2%  of  76) 

24.  Reported  no  later  training 

6 

9 

11 

10 

36 

(47.4%  of  76) 

Experience 

25.  Elementary  school :  number  experienced 

15 

8 

7 

10 

40 

26.  Elementary  school :  average  years 

2.1 

1.7 

4.1 

4.6 

2.£ 

27.  Elementary  school  :  median  years 

1 

1 

.7 

3 

i.e 

28.  Secondary  schools  :  number  experienced 

23 

16 

11 

11 

61 

29.  Secondary  schools  :  average  years 

11.4 

8.2 

4.2 

4.4 

7.9 

30.  Secondary  schools  :  median  years 

10 

4.5 

3 

1 

6 

Present  Work 

31.  Total  number  of  subjects  now  taught 

90 

89^ 

116 

139 

434 

32.  Average  number  of  subjects  now  taught 

3.9 

6.5 

6.4 

7.3 

6.6 

33.  Average  numberof  subjects  taught  forflrsttime 

.6 

.9 

3.7 

3.6 

2. 

34.  Medianaverage  experience persubjectdnyearsi 

5.2 

3.8 

2.1 

1.6 

3.3 

35.  Subjects  taught  without  school  preparation 

7 

6' 

16 

12 

41 

(9.4%  of  434) 

36.  Subjects  taught  with  high  school  preparation 

only 

12 

171 

23 

44 

96 

(22.1%  of  434) 

37.  Subjects  taught  with  elementary  college  or 

normal  school  preparation 

64 

48' 

58 

67 

227 

(62.3%  of  434) 

38.  Subjects  taught  with  advanced  college  or  nor- 

mal school  preparation 

17 

18' 

19 

16 

70 

(16.2%  of  434) 

39.  Median  number  of  class  periods  per  week 

25 

33 

39.6 

48 

36 

40.  Highest  number  of  class  periods  per  week 

42 

45 

62 

84 

84 

41.  lowest  number  of  class  periods  per  week 

14^ 

26 

33.3 

35^ 

14 

'  Sixteen  principals  reporting. 

^  Except  in  Burlington,  where  the  work  of  the  principal  is  almost  wholly  supervision. 

'  Two  exceptional  part-time  cases  with  fewer  hours  are  omitted. 


STATISTICS 


229 


6.  Personalia  of  Full-time  Teachers  in  58  High  Schools  in  Vermont  ^ 
{Principals  are  omitted.  Figures  in  parentheses  in  the  first  three  columns  indicate  percentages) 


Number,  Age,  and  Salary 


1.  Number  of  men 

2.  Number  of  women 
S.  Total 

4.  Median  age  of  men 

5.  Median  age  of  women 

6.  Median  age  of  group 

7.  Median  salary  of  men 

8.  Median  salary  of  women 

9.  Median  salary  of  group 


Training 

10.  Graduates  of  academies  and  high  schools  in  Vt. 

11.  Graduates  of  academies  and  high  schools  else- 
where 

12.  Graduates  of  normal  schools  in  Vermont 

13.  Graduates  of  normal  schools  elsewhere 

14.  Normal  school  non-graduate 

16.  Graduates  of  colleges  in  Vermont 

16.  Graduates  of  colleges  elsewhere 

17.  Total  graduates 

18.  College  non-graduates 

19.  Without  college  training 

20.  Attended  schools  of  business,  music,  elocution, 
etc. 

21.  Pedagogical  training:  none 

22.  Pedagogical  training:  elementary 

23.  Pedagogical  training:  advanced 

24.  Attended  summer  schools 

25.  Did  graduate  study 


Experience 

26.  In  elementary  schools:  number  experienced 

27.  In  elementary  schools:  average  years 

28.  In  elementary  schools;  median  years 

29.  In  secondary  .schools :  number  experienced 

30.  In  secondary  schools:  average  years 

31.  In  secondary  schools:  median  years 

Present  WorS 

32.  Total  number  of  subjects  now  taught 

33.  Average  number  of  subjects  now  taught 

34.  Average  number  of  subjects  taught  for  first  time 

35.  .Subjects  taught  without  school  preparation 

36.  .Subjects  taught  with  highschoolpreparationonly 

37.  Subjects  taught  with  elementary  college  or  nor- 
mal school  preparation 

38.  Subjects  taught  with  advanced  college  or  normal 
.school  preparation 


Schools 
with  4  or 

more 

teachers 

23 


20 
103 
123 

28 
27 
27 


Schools 

with  3 

teachers 

17 


;i,025.00 
.1630.00 
$650.00 


57     (46.3) 

64     (52) 

2 
12 

1 

26 
69 
95 


(77.2) 


14 

62  (50.4) 

57  (46.3) 

4  (3.3) 

33  (26.8) 

6 


40     (32.6) 
4.6 
3 
106 
5.6 
4 


349' 

2.8 

.9 


(5.4) 
(10.3) 


162     (43.6) 


142     (40.7) 


2 
32 
34 

30 
24 

24 

$469.00 
S613.00 
$513.00 


21     (61.1) 

12     (35.3) 
4 
1 


26     (76.6) 
1 


14     (42.4) 
20     (57.6) 


6     (18.2) 
1 


15     (45.5) 

2.5 

1 
21 

3.8 

2.1 


144 
4.4 
2.1 

5        (3.5) 
16     (ILl) 

64     (44.4) 

59     (41) 


Schools 

with  2 

teachers 

18 


$447.50 
$447.50 


10     (56.6) 


8     (44.4) 
1 


12     (6.66) 
1 
5 


(50) 
(50) 


(33.3) 


8     (44.4) 
3.9 
2 
14 
3 
1.3 


88 
4.9 
2.1 

6       (6.8) 
29     (33) 

26     (28.4) 


84 
71 

13 1' 
1 

46 
87 
133 
10 
32 


Total 
58 


22  (12.6%  of  175) 
163  (87.4%  of  175) 
175 

28 
26 
26 

$1,025.00 
$600.00 
$600.00 


88       (50.3%  of  175) 


(48%  of  175) 

(12%  of  175) 


(34.6%  of  133) 
(65.4%  of  133) 
(76%  of  175) 
(5.7%  of  176) 
(18.3%  of  175) 


16       (9.1%  of  175) 


63 
3.7 
2 
141 
6 
3 


681 
3.3 
1.8 


(48.6%  of  176) 
(49.1%  of  175) 

(2.3%  of  175) 
(25.7%  of  175) 

(18.3%  of  175) 


(36%  of  175) 


(80.6%  of  175) 


30       (5.2%  of  681) 
81       (13.9%  of  681) 

241       (41.5%  of  581) 


28     (31.8'     229       (39.4%  of  581) 


*  Teachers  of  training-classes  are  not  included.  Data  concerning  schools  with  one  teacher  will  be  found  with  the 

"  Principals." 

^  One  teacher  not  reporting. 


230 


EDUCATION  IN  VERMONT 


7.  Colleges  at  which  the  Principals  and  Teachers  in  Vermont  High  Schools 

WERE  trained 


1 

II 

III 

IV 

Schools  with  4 

Schools  with  3 

Schools  with  2 

Schools  with 

Colleges 

or  more  teachers 

teachers 

teachers 

1  teacher 

Total 

Teachers 

Principals 
2 

Teache7-s 

Principals 

Teachers  Principals 

Principals 

Middlebury 

13 

11 

2 

2                   3 

4 

37 

University  of  Vermont 

13 

3 

6 

3 

1                    4 

1 

31 

Mt.  Holyoke 

18 

2 

1 

1 

22 

Smitli 

15 

' 

2 

1 

18 

Dartmouth 

2 

6 

4 

4 

1 

17 

Wellesley 

9 

1 

1 

11 

Boston  University 

5 

1 

1 

7 

Brown 

2 

1 

1 

4 

Yale 

1 

3 

4 

Radcliffe 

2 

1 

1 

4 

Teachers  College 

2 

1 

3 

Colby 

1 

1 

1 

3 

Tufts 

2 

1 

3 

Amherst 

1 

1 

1 

3 

Bowdoin 

1 

1 

1 

3 

Bates 

2 

1 

3 

Williams 

1 

1 

1 

3 

Syracuse  University 

1 

1 

1 

3 

St.  Lawrence  University 

1 

1 

2 

University  of  Minnesota 

1 

Clark 

1 

Hamilton 

1 

Barnard 

1 

Univ.  of  New  Brunswick 

1 

Berea 

1 

Western  Reserve 

1 

University  of  Chicago 

1 

Rhode  Island  State 

1 

Colsate 

1 

Ripon 

1 

Norwich 

1 

Total 

95 

23 

26 

12 

12 

15 

10 

193 

Number  of  Periods  per  Week  of  Recitation  required  of  Principals  and  the 
Average  Number  required  from  Teachers  in  Vermont  High  Schools 

TOGETHER  WITH  THE  AvERAGE  ClASS  MEMBERSHIP^ 


I 

11 

HI 

IV 

Schools  with  4  or  more 

School 

3  with  3 

Schools  with  2 

Schools  with 

teachers 

teat 

hers 

teachers 

1  teacher 

Principals 

Teachers 

Principals 

Teachers^ 

Principals 

Teachers 

Principals 

Pe- 

Class 

Pe- 

Class 

Pe- 

Class 

Pe- 

Class 

Pe- 

Class 

Pe- 

Class 

Pe- 

Class 

riods 

Mem- 

riods 

Mem- 

riods 

Mem- 

riods 

Mem- 

riods 

Mem- 

riods 

Mem- 

riods 

Mem- 

bership 

bership 

bership 

bership 

bership 

bership 

bership 

0 

0 

22 

22 

25 

9 

27 

17 

33 

5 

30 

9 

15    P.T. 

6 

14 

37 

22 

18 

25 

16 

29 

14 

35 

8 

33 

8 

25^  P.T. 

12 

14 

21 

24 

22 

26- 

8 

31 

11 

35 

7 

34 

6 

35^  P.T. 

5 

16 

24 

25 

18 

27= 

17 

31 

12 

35 

8 

35 

7 

40» 

5 

20 

22 

25 

20 

30 

13 

31 

18 

37 

16 

35 

6 

40= 

4 

20 

16 

26 

17 

30 

12 

31 

17 

38 

12 

38 

9 

43 

10 

20 

9 

27 

21 

30 

11 

35 

10 

38 

10 

39 

10 

45 

6 

20 

21 

27 

17 

30= 

6 

35 

14 

38 

9 

39 

8 

45^ 

6 

21 

10 

28 

19 

33 

11 

35 

.  16 

39 

8 

39 

10 

48 

4 

22 

14 

28 

21 

33 

8 

35 

10 

40 

6 

40 

9 

48 

6 

24 

15 

28 

19 

33 

9 

35 

10 

40 

4 

40 

9 

48= 

5 

25 

9 

28 

16 

35 

11 

35 

6 

43= 

7 

41 

8 

50= 

7 

25 

15 

29 

13 

35 

9 

38 

12 

43^ 

7 

43 

7 

50' 

6 

27 

20 

30 

13 

37 

15 

40 

11 

443 

9 

44 

8 

50^ 

4 

27 

15 

30 

20 

39 

24 

41 

12 

45 

13 

45 

8 

52'' 

11 

28 

13 

31 

19 

39 

14 

45 

9 

45s 

8 

45 

7 

53-' 

5 

28 

19 

31 

13 

45'' 

5 

473 

7 

48 

10 

56'' 

8 

29 

10 

32 

12 

52= 

i) 

55 

15 

60* 

4 

31 

12 

32 

18 

84* 

4 

31 

20 

33 

10 

33 

17 

33 

16 

35 

16 

35 

7 

42 

11 

38 

14 

Medians  25 

15      1      28 

18 

33 

11 

35 

12 

39.5 

8 

39.5 

8 

48                 5 

'  Classes  in  commercial  subjects  and  in  all  special  branches  have  been  omitted  in  estimating  the  average  class  mem- 
bership. '  Periods  average  36  min.  '  Periods  average  80  min.  *  Periods  average  26  min. 
°  One  school  failed  to  report.           p.t.  =  Part  time. 


STATISTICS 


9.  Salaries  of  Principals  and  Average  Salaries  of  Full-time  Teachers  in 
Vermont  High  Schools,  1912-13 


Schools  with  4  or 

Schools  with  3 

Schools  with  2 

Schools  with 

more  teachers 

teachers 

teachers 

1  teacher 

Principals 

Teachers 

Principals 

Teachers 

Principals 

Teachers 

Principals 

$1,050 

$431 

$850 

$324 

$675 

$360 

$180 

1,100 

476 

1,000 

450 

084 

360 

450 

1,200 

500 

1,000 

466 

700 

396 

450 

1,250 

504 

1,000 

457 

800 

432 

450 

1,300 

508 

1,000 

475 

800 

432 

468 

1,350 

558 

1,000 

500 

800 

432 

500 

1,350 

574 

1,100 

503 

810 

432 

504 

1,350 

583 

1,100 

504 

850 

432 

540 

1,400 

583 

1.100 

520 

850 

445 

540 

1,500 

616 

1,200 

525 

850 

450 

540 

1.500 

021 

1,200 

520 

850 

450 

550 

1,500 

650 

1,200 

550 

000 

408 

600 

1,600 

650 

1,250 

550 

900 

475 

600 

1,600 

700 

1,300 

550 

950 

500 

650 

1,700 

705 

1.300 

590 

1,000 

500 

050 

1,700 

733 

1,300 

595 

1,000 

518 

720 

1,700 

760 

1,400 

625 

1.200 

540 

720 

1,750 

764 

1,400 

550 

725 

1,800 

766 

850 

2,000 

777 

2,000 

800 

2,400 

834 

2,400 

844 

Median  $1,500 

$650 

$1,100 

$520 

$850 

$447 

$540 

COUNTY  DISTRIBUTION  OF  VERMONT  STUDENTS  ATTENDING 
VERMONT'S  INSTITUTIONS  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION 


County 

University  of  Vermont 

MlDDLEBURV  COLLEGE 

Norwich  University 

1902-3 

1907-8 

1912-13 

1902-3 

1907-8 

1912-13 

1902-3 

1907-8 

1912-13 

Addison 

10 

12 

7 

34 

70 

04 

0 

6 

0 

Bennington 

15 

21 

10 

0 

8 

1 

2 

5 

5 

Caledonia 

10 

9 

14 

0 

4 

4 

4 

5 

8 

Chittenden 

130 

116 

112 

0 

1 

7 

2 

3 

0 

Essex 

2 

5 

2 

0 

0 

2 

3 

4 

0 

Franklin 

34 

32 

31 

6 

4 

7 

1 

7 

1 

Grand  Isle 

3 

11 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Lamoille 

18 

19 

15 

0 

1 

3 

3 

7 

1 

Orange 

18 

13 

19 

0 

6 

6 

7 

4 

4 

Orleans 

18 

22 

14 

0 

0 

4 

1 

3 

2 

Rutland 

24 

18 

50 

10 

21 

26 

2 

7 

7 

Washington 

17 

17 

25 

7 

4 

5 

18 

19 

23 

Windham 

12 

14 

16 

1 

4 

7 

7 

5 

6 

Windsor 

29 

39 

32 

3 

11 

17 

7 

12 

5 

340 

348 

350 

61 

134 

153 

57 

87 

62 

RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  VERMONT  STATE  BOARD  OF 
HEALTH  RELATIVE  TO  SCHOOLS 

The  Vermont  State  Board  of  Health,  responding  to  the  request  of  the  Commission, 
submitted  the  following  recommendations  in  regard  to  changes  in  the  statutes  relat- 
ing to  School  Hygiene: 

First.  A  date  should  be  fixed  at  some  reasonable  time  in  the  future,  perhaps  five 
or  ten  years,  on  which  all  schoolhouses  in  the  state  must  have  complied  with  the 
regulations  of  the  State  Board  of  Health.  It  is  understood  that  such  regulations 
would  include  only  such  features  as  are  generally  recognized  by  sanitary  author- 
ities as  essential  to  healthful  schoolhouses;  ^.^.,  dirt-tight  floors,  jacketed  stoves, 
windows  of  the  correct  size  and  properly  placed,  blackboards  of  the  proper 
material  and  properly  set,  out-houses  of  sanitary  construction  and  decently  cared 
for,  etc. 

Second.  It  is  desirable  that  all  towns  in  the  state  have  medical  inspection  of  pub- 
lic schools  under  some  practical  working  plan.  The  purpose  of  this  is  primarily  to 
ensure  the  early  detection  of  disorders  and  deformities  which  may  prove  suscep- 
tible to  correction,  and  to  eradicate  contagious  diseases  from  the  public  schools. 

Third.  It  is  desirable  that  the  Department  of  Education  gather  and  furnish  to 
the  State  Board  of  Health  such  statistical  data  as  are  necessary  for  the  proper 
discharge  of  their  duties  in  the  supervision  of  the  hygiene  of  the  public  schools 
of  the  state. 

The  committee  of  enquiry  heartily  endorses  these  recommendations. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Academies,  26,  30,  63,  64,  67,  228,  229. 
Agriculture,  8,  11,21,  22,  24,  127,  132,  133. 

In  schools,  11,  46-48,  89,  104,  127-133. 

Principal  industry  of  state,  127. 

State  College  of,  164-172. 

State  School  of,  129,  133. 
Agricultural  schools  of  Wisconsin,  133. 
Algebra,  45,  47,  77,  81,  82,  84,  87,  102. 
American  College,  The,  what  it  stands  for,  182. 
American  Medical  Association,  175. 
Amherst  College,  200,  230. 
Arithmetic,  10,  45,  47-49,  103,  116. 
Austine  Institution,  27,  34,  223. 

Barnard  College,  230. 

Bates  College,  230. 

Berea  College,  230. 

Biennial  school  reports,  217. 

Billings,  Frederick,  158. 

Board  of  Normal  School  Commissioners,  112. 

Board  of  Penal  Institutions,  26. 

Boards  of  education  in  other  states,  149. 

Books  and  supplies,  52,  53,  60. 

Boston  University,  200,  230. 

Bowdoin  College,  230. 

Brooks,  Frank  H.,  President  E.  and  T.  Fair- 
banks and  Co. ,  3. 

Brown  University,  200,  230. 

Bryn  Mawr  College,  201. 

Budget  of  public  expenditures  for  education, 
1911-12,  222,  223. 

BurHngton,  19,  23,  26,  154,  158,  175,  178. 

Butler,  Nicholas  Murray,  President  of  Colum- 
bia University,  3. 

C/ARNEGiE  Foundation  for  the  Advancement  of 
Teaching,  The,  4,  6,  7,  174. 

Methods  of  work  of,  6. 
Castleton  Normal  School,  26,  111-113,  114,  note, 

115,  118,  119,  123,  183. 
Central  schools  of  London,  100,  note. 
Chemistry,  71,  81,  102,  190. 
Children : 

Ages  and  school  attendance  of,  30,  40-42,  64, 
65,  144,  145,  220. 

Attending  elementary  schools,  8,  25. 

Between  5  and  17  years  of  age,  8. 

Compulsory  school  attendance  of,  30. 

Free  text-books  for,  30. 


How  best  to  utilize  the  time  of,  131. 

Money  needed  for  teaching  of,  14. 

Not  in  school,  65,  66. 

Not  reached  by  secondary  schools,  66. 

Number  attending  public  schools,  25,  26. 
In  secondary  schools,  65. 
Percentage  of,  living  in  the  country,  40. 

Native  born,  40. 
Play,  ingenuity  in  organizing,  57. 

Present  teaching  of,  radically  wrong,  9. 

Studies  of,  44-51. 

Transportation  of,  39,  60,  61,  137,  139. 

Well  taught  in  practice-teaching  schools,  204. 
Clark  University,  230. 
Classical  course,  81. 

Clement,  Percival  W.,  former  President,  Rut- 
land Railroad,  3. 
Colby  College,  230. 
Colgate  College,  230. 
College  or  university,  fundamental  reasons  for 

existence,  202. 
Colleges  drawing  Vermont  students,  200. 

Where  principals  and   high-school  teachers 
were  trained,  230. 
Columbia  University,  3,  6,  7,  200. 
Commercial  course,  81. 
Commissioner  of  Education,  150. 
Commissions  created,  112. 
Common  schools : 

Became  free  in  1866,  140. 

Board  of  directors,  27. 

Problem  of,  8. 

Sources  of  income,  32,  33. 
Compulsory  education  law,  42. 
Conclusions  and  recommendations,  7-16. 
Connecticut  River,  19,  20,  22. 
Consolidated  School  Fund,  141. 
Converse,  John  H.,  158. 
Cornell  University,  200. 

Dartmouth  College,  176,  185,  189,  200,  230. 
Department  of    Superintendence   of  National 

Education  Association,  135. 
Direct  state  support  and  educational  standards, 

144,  145. 
Distribution  of  state  funds,  146.  [129. 

Domestic  science  in  schools,  88,  103,  104,  128, 
Drawing,  44-47. 
Drinking-cup,  common,  prohibited,  58. 


236 


INDEX 


JiiDUCATioNAL  Commission  of  Vermont  : 

Appreciation  of,  7. 

Invites  Carnegie  Foundation  to  study  educa- 
tional conditions,  4. 

Letter  sent  to  citizens  of  Vermont  by,  218. 

Meetings  held,  4. 

Named  by  governor,  3. 

Resolution  adopted,  4. 

Tabular  analysis  of  replies  to  letter  by,  219. 
Educational  expenditures,  33,  34,  90,  91,  144, 

159,  161,  168,  180,  189,  222-224. 
Elementary  Schools,  The,  36-62,  225. 

Age  and  attendance  of  pupils,  30,  40-42,  144, 
145,  220. 

Features  of  administration  of,  39. 

Proportion  of  children  enrolled,  41. 

Purpose  of,  38. 

Recommendations,  61,  62. 

Scope  and  character  of  elementary  education 
in  Vermont,  38-61. 

Sources  of  information,  36,  37. 

Standards  of  judgment,  37,  38. 

Truancy  in,  42. 

Teachers : 
Age  of,  225. 
Experience  of,  225. 
Number  of,  225. 
Salaries  of,  225. 
EUiott,  Edward  C,   Professor,   University  of 

Wisconsin,  6. 
Emigration,  20,  21. 
EngHsh,  10,  44,  45,  47-49,  54,  77,  81-84,  91,  100, 

103,  116,  128,  162,  168,  190. 
English  course,  81. 

Estee,  James  B.,  Mayor  of  Montpelier,  4. 
Evening  schools,  143. 
Existing  educational  system.  The,  25-35. 

Harrington,  Edward  H.,  Professor,  College 
of  Agriculture  of  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin, 7. 

Financial  support  of  public  school  system,  140- 
147. 

French,  71,  91,  101,  104. 

Geography,  10,  44,  45,  49,  50,  54,  102. 
Geometry,  45,  81,  82,  102. 
German,  71,  77,  91,  101,  104. 
German  secondary  teachers,  72. 
Governor,  The,  3,  7,  23,  26,  29,  155. 
Graded  schools,  25,  42,  59. 


Graham,  Horace  F.,  State  Auditor,  3. 
Grammar,  45,  48,  51,  85. 
Greek,  71,  81,  82,  91. 

Hamilton  College,  230. 
Harvard  Medical  School,  176. 
Harvard  School  of  Education,  6. 
Harvard  University,  181,  200,  201. 
High  schools : 
Accessibility  of,  67. 
Age  of  teachers,  229. 

Number  of,  226. 
Causes  for  withdrawals  from,  94. 
Commercial  education  in,  87,  96,  98. 
Comparison  of  large  and  small,  227. 
Curriculum,  based  upon  environment,  100. 

Inappropriate,  84-87. 

Mechanical,  83. 

Modifications  of,  100-102. 

Revision  of,  100,  103. 
"Domination  of  the  college,"  9,  82. 

Educational  opportunity  of,  99. 
"General  science"  course,  102. 
Groups,  97,  98. 
Janitor  service,  68. 
Junior,  aim  to  produce  successful  farmers, 

104. 
More  teachers  than  places,  185. 
Number  of  pupils,  66. 

Graduates,  95. 

Recitations  per  week  required  from  teach- 
ers, 230. 

Teachers,  229. 
Occupations  of  graduates  of,  95,  96. 
Records,  92. 
Rural  problem,  97. 
Salaries  of  teachers  of,  98,  231. 
Size  of  classes  in,  227. 
Statistics  of,  26. 
Student  failures,  86. 
Studies  preparing  for  college,  104. 
Superintendent  of,  70. 
Teachers  of,  30,  31,  66,  93,  94,  98,  101,  226- 

229. 
Training-classes,  115,  223. 
Two-teacher,  expensive,  98. 
Visited,  63. 

Withdrawals  from,  92-94. 
Women  form  87  per  cent  of  teachers,  76. 
Hillegas,  Milo  B.,  Professor,  Teachers  College, 
6,  62, 


INDEX 


History,  45,  48,  49,  54,  77,  81-86,  101,  116. 
History  of  Vermont  subsidies  to  Higher  Educa- 
tion, 194-198. 
Hunt,  George  L.,  clerk  of  commission,  4. 

Immigration,  21. 

Johnson  Normal  School,  26,  111-113,  114,  note, 
115,  118-120,  note,  123,  183. 

iViNDEHGARTENS,   25,    143. 

Latin,  71,  77,  81-84,  87,  101,  104,  162. 
Latin  course,  81. 

Learned,  Dr.  William  S. ,  Harvard  School  of  Ed- 
ucation, 6,  110. 
Legislature : 

Acts  of,  28,  29,  52,  111-113,  128-130,  140, 141, 
148,  155,  156,  164,  194,  196,  197. 

Appropriations  by,  13,  27,  111,  112,  128-130, 
140,  141,  194-197. 

Composition,  23,  24. 

Provides  for  Educational  Commission,  3. 

Schools  established  by,  36,  27. 
Leslie,  William,  public  accountant,  7. 
Local  support  for  elementary  and  secondary 
schools,  142,  143. 

Tax  for  school  support,  143. 
Lyndon  Institute,  130,  131. 

Equipment  of,  131. 

JManual  of  agriculture  issued,  128. 
Manual  training  in  schools,  88,  128,  129,  223. 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  The,  166. 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  200. 
Mathematics,    71,    81,   84,   90,    103,   128,   162, 

168. 
"Mechanic  Arts,"  169,  170. 

Translated  to  mean  high-grade  engineering, 
170. 
Method  of  the  enquiry.  The,  4^7. 
Middlebury : 

Population,  178. 

Typical  small  New  England  town,  178. 
Middlebury  College,  3,  26,  34,  115,  153-156,  164, 
178-186,  194-303,  204-206,  223,  230,  231. 

Buildings,  179. 

Campus,  179. 

Charter,  154-156,  178. 

College  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  305,  206. 

Cost  of  student  life  moderate,  180. 


Courses  of  instruction,  181. 

Department  of  engineering,  181. 

Department  of  pedagogy,  182,  185. 

Endowment,  179. 

Entrance  requirements,  183,  184. 

Expenditures,  179,  180. 

Government,  178. 

Growth  in  student  attendance,  184. 

Income,  179. 

Instructing  staff,  180. 

Men  favored  in  matter  of  scholarships,  180. 

Officers  of  administration,  178. 

Opportunity  before  it,  184. 

President  of,  206,  207. 

Problems,  185. 

Record  of  attendance,  184. 

Salaries  of  instructing  force,  180. 

Scholarships,  180. 

Service  to  higher  education,  207,  208. 

Tendency  to   become  a   women's   college, 
185. 

Value  of  buildings  and  apparatus,  179. 

Women's  College  established,  178. 

Women  students,  184. 
Morrill,  Senator  Justin  S.,  164,  168,  170. 
"Morrill  Act,"  The,  164,  169,  170. 
Mt.  Holyoke  College,  200,  230. 

Mature  study,  44,  54. 

Nelson  Amendment,  162. 

New  England  College  Entrance  Certificate 

Board,  160,  183,  7iote,  191. 
Normal  Schools,  26,  27,  111-114,  117,  118,  122, 
123,  223,  228,  229. 
Buildings  and  equipment,  113. 
Castleton,  26,  111-113,  114,  note,  115, 118,119, 
note,  123,  182. 
Recommendation  to  discontinue,  123. 
Inadequacy  of,  117,  118,  122. 
Ineffective  at  present,  16,  117. 
Johnson,  26,  111-113,  114,  note,  115,  118-130, 
note,  123,  182. 
Recommendation  to  discontinue,  123. 
Location  of,  113. 
Number  of  graduates  of,  114. 
Organization  of  course  of  study  in,  114. 
Randolph,  26,  111,  112,  114,  note,  119,  note. 
Discontinued  in  1910,  139. 
Northfield : 

Location  of,  187. 
Population  of,  187. 


238 


INDEX 


Norwich  University,  3,  26,  34, 153, 154, 156,  164, 
178,  183,  187-198,  201,  208,  2-23,  230,  231. 

Attendance  of  students,  192,  193. 

Average  salaries,  189. 

Buildings,  188. 

Charter,  154,  156,  187. 

Cost,  of  buildings,  188. 

To  students  moderate,  189. 

Curriculum,  190. 

Degrees  conferred,  191. 

Dodge,  General,  188. 

Dodge-Ellis  History,  192. 

Endowment,  188. 

Entrance  requirements,  191. 

Expenditure  of  state  money  for,  cannot  be 
defended,  192. 

Expenditures,  189. 

Founded  at  Norwich,  187. 

Government,  187. 

Income,  188,  189. 

Instructing  staff,  189. 

Laboratories  meagre,  188. 
"  Military  college  of  the  State,"  156.  [190. 

Military  instruction  backbone  of  school  life. 

Name  "university"  unfortunate,  187,  188. 

Occupations  of  graduates,  192. 

Organization,  187. 

Removed  to  Northfield,  187. 

Scholarships,  189. 

State  subsidy  should  be  withdrawn,  208. 

Tompkins,  Captain,  187. 

(Jlshausev,  Dr.  George  R.,  United  States  Bu- 
reau of  Standards,  7.  [199-209. 
Outlook  for  Higher  Education  in  Vermont,  The, 

Jl  ERMANENT  Public  School  Fund,  140. 

Physics,  77,  102. 

Physiology  and  hygiene,  44,  48,  50. 

Political  pressure,  10,  11. 

Population,  8,  19-21,220. 

Porter,  Eli  H.,  3. 

Potter,  Dr.  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  Assistant  Pro- 
fessor of  Internal  Medicine,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, 7,  175. 

Poultry  raising,  166,  167. 

Practice-teaching,  204.  [201. 

Preference  for  institutions  not  co-educational, 

Primers  and  first  readers,  44. 

Principals  of  high  schools : 
Age  of,  228. 


As  "head-teacher,"  75. 

Changes  of,  73. 

Duties  of,  74,  75. 

Experience  of,  228. 

Number  of,  228. 

Number  of  recitations  per  week  required,  230. 

Preparation  of,  71,  72,  228. 

Salaries  of,  72,  73,  75,  231. 

Subjects  taught,  228. 

Tenure  of  position  among,  73. 
"Professional"  instruction,  79,  126. 
Professors,  homes  for,  207. 
Program  of  reorganization,  210-214. 

Administrative  policy  of  State  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, 211-214. 

General  policies,  210. 

Measures  for  legislative  enactment,  210,  211. 
Public  school  fund,  32. 

XVADCLIFFE  Collcgc,  230.  [119,  note, 

Randolph  Normal  School,  26,  111,  112, 114,  note, 
Randolph  State  School  of  Agriculture,  129,  133. 
Reading,  44-46,  48,  49. 
Realschulen  in  Germany,  100,  note. 
Reason  for  the  enquiry.  The,  3,  4. 
Records  and  accounts,  134-139. 

And  meetings,  136. 

Business  administration,  134,  135. 

Disbursement  of  school  moneys,  137. 

Financial  reports,  135. 

Fiscal  year,  135,  136. 

Legal  date  of  reports,  135. 
"Permanent  Record,"  136. 

Supplies  and  other  expenditures,  138. 

True  revenue  and  expenditures,  134,  135. 

Uniform  method  of  accounting  suggested, 

134. 

'Regional"  schools,  120.  [126. 

Relation  between  education  and  training,  125, 

Reorganization  of  agencies  for  administration, 

148-152. 
Rhode  Island  State  College,  The,  166,  230. 
Richardson,  H.  H.,  158. 
Ripon  College,  230. 
Rural  schools : 

Higher  salaries  for  teachers  of,  121,  146. 

Number  of,  25. 

Pupils  of,  8. 

Schoolhouses,  57. 

Teachers  of,  8,  10. 
Rutgers  College,  169. 


INDEX 


OT.  Lawrence  University,  2.30. 
St.  Michael's  Roman  Catholic  College,  26,  153. 
Scholarships,  13,  130,  159,  180,  189,  223. 
"  School  barges,"  61. 
School  census,  25,  30-32,  41,  64,  65,  220, 
School  committee,  69,  74. 
School  Fund  Consolidation  Act,  32,  33. 
School  furniture  56,  58. 
Schoolhouses,  8,  25,  56,  57,  59,  68,  69. 

Rural,  57. 
School  records  and  reports,  54,  92. 
"School  survey,"  4. 
Secondary  Schools,  The,  63-110,  226. 

Age  and  attendance  of  pupils,  64^66,  145, 
220. 

Committee,  69. 

Comparison  of  cost  per  pupil,  90,  91. 

Curriculum,  The,  81-92. 

Definition  of  a,  96,  97. 

Differentiation,  66,  67. 

Distribution,  67,  68. 

Number  and  size  of,  66. 

Personnel  of  administration  and  instruction, 
69-80. 

Physical  equipment,  68,  69. 

Product  of  the,  92-96. 

Recommendations  for  improvement  of,  106- 
110. 

School  material,  The,  64-66. 

Suggested  solution  of  problem,  97-106. 

Superintendent,  The,  70,  71. 
Simmons  College,  200. 
Singing,  44,  46. 
Smith  College,  200,  201,  230. 
Special  schools,  151. 
Special  trade  schools,  129-131. 
"Speedwell  Farms,"  131. 
Spelling,  44. 

State  aid  to  lower  schools,  145. 
State  appropriations  for  trade  schools  difficult 

to  obtain,  126. 
State  Board  of  Education,  28,  29,  40,  61,  112, 
114,  148-152. 

Appointed  by  governor,  149. 

Reorganization  of,  recommended,  152. 

Should  consist  of  few  members,  149. 
State  Board  of  Health,  151,  232. 

Recommendations  of,  relative  to  schools,  232. 
State  Board  of  Library  Commissioners,  27. 
State  Industrial  School,  26. 
State  influence  in  education,  148,  149. 


State  School  for  Feeble-minded  Children,  27. 

State  School  Tax,  32,  140,  145. 

State  subsidies,  13,  15,  115,  145,  185,  186,  192- 

198,  205,  208. 
State  superintendent,  16,  25,  42,  112. 
State's    duty    to    elementary    and    secondary 

schools,  193. 
States  furnishing  students  to  Vermont  colleges, 

201. 
Statistical  data  untrustworthy,  217. 

Gathered  from  various  sources,  217. 
Stearns,  Miss  L.  E. ,  chief  of  Traveling  Library 

Department,  Wisconsin  Free  Library,  7. 
Student  migration,  denominational  preferences 
affect,  201. 

Geographical  conditions  affect,  202. 
Summary  of  recommendations  for  the  improve- 
ment of  secondary  education  in  Vermont,  106- 

110. 
Summer  schools,  62,  115,  180,  223. 
Superintendent  of  education,  25,  29,  31,  115, 

128,  187,  217. 
Syracuse  University,  200,  201,  230. 

1  ACONic  Mountains,  19,  22. 
'Teacher's  Manual  for  Use  in  the  Elementary 

Schools,"  36,  44,  46,  47. 
Teachers : 

Age  of,  10,  32,  76,  229. 
Changes  in  personnel,  76. 
Country,  10,  11,  121. 

As  janitors,  58. 
Dependent  upon  text-book,  80. 
Examination  and  certification  of,  31,  32,  50, 

51,  116,  117. 
Full-time,  74,  77,  79,  229. 
Improvement  of,  33. 
Lack  of  practice-teaching,  78,  120,  204. 
Meetings,  55,  62. 
Payment  of,  10,  32,  34,  39,  42,  43,  72,  73,  78, 

98,  121,  122,  138,  224, 
Programs  of,  77. 
Requirements  of,  80. 
Training  of,  111-115. 

High  school,  204. 
Training-classes  for,  26,  88,  89,  112,  115,  120, 
123,  223. 

Numbers  in,  115. 

Success  of,  119-121. 
Typical  rural  school,  42. 
Teachers  College,  6,  230. 


240 


INDEX 


Total  resources  for  elementary  and  secondary 

education,  143. 
Town  superintendents,  28,  29,  51,  218,  224. 

Duties  of,  28. 

Salaries  of,  29,  224. 
Town  system,  28. 

Trade  education  important  for  girls,  126. 
Trade  schools  : 

Experiments  costly,  132. 

In  Germany,  126. 

Necessity  for,  126. 
Training,  certification,  and  supply  of  teachers, 

111-124. 
Training-schools,  121-123,  133. 

Aims  of,  122. 
Transportation  aid,  141. 
Tufts  College,  200,  201,  230. 
Tuttle,  Allison  E.,  President  State  Teachers' 

Association,  4. 

Union  superintendents,  28,  29,  52-54,  58,  115, 
218,  222,  224. 

Duties  of,  28. 

Handicapped,  54. 

Salaries  of,  29,  224. 
Union  supervision  aid,  141. 
Unions  for  employing  professional  superintend- 
ents, 52. 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  135. 
United  States  Bureau  of  Standards,  7. 
United  States  Weather  Bureau,  159,  189. 
University  of  Chicago,  200,  230. 
University  of  Illinois,  169. 
University  of  Maine,  200. 
University  of  Minnesota,  169,  230. 
University  of  Michigan,  200. 
University  of  New  Brunswick,  230. 
University  of  Vermont  and  State  Agricultural 

College,  3,  34,  115,  153-156,  158-177,  181,  183, 

193-197,  199-205,  223,  230,  231. 
University  of  Vermont : 

Athletic  interests,  162. 

Buildings,  158. 

Charter,  154-156,  158. 

College  of  engineering,  a,  within  the  possibil- 
ities of,  203. 

Committees,  158.  [169. 

Comparison  of  policy  of  different  institutions. 

Corporation,  155. 

Cost  of  buildings,  158. 
Tuition  and  board,  159. 


Dignified  and  honorable  American  institution 

of  learning,  162. 
Endowment  of,  159. 
Entrance  requirements,  160. 
Gifts  by  graduates,  158. 
Graduate  school,  a,  204. 
Housing  of  students,  161,  162. 
Income,  159. 
Location,  154,  158. 

Military  drill  and  instruction,  162.  [note. 

Proportion  of  graduates  in  the  faculties,  160, 
Salaries  low,  205. 
Salary  expenditures,  161. 
Scholarships,  159. 

Serves  interests  of  higher  education,  207,  208. 
Women  admitted  to  the,  161. 
State  Agricultural  College,  150,  158,  164-172, 
203,  223. 

Absence  of  familiar  agricultural  courses,  166. 
"Aggies,"  89,  170,  171. 

Agricultural  courses  inadequately  adjusted, 
165. 

Agricultural  equipment  meagre,  167. 

Annual  income,  164. 

Corporation,  164. 

Curricula  of,  165,  166. 

Equipment  of,  164,  165.  [168. 

Expenditure  of  gift  of  U.  S.  government. 

Experiment  Station,  158,  164,  165, 167,  168, 
171,  194,  223. 

Functions  of,  171. 

Laboratory  equipment  meagre,  164. 

Necessity  of  adequate  support,  171,  172. 

Number  of  graduates  engaged  in  practi- 
cal agriculture,  162. 

Reasons  for  poverty  and  deficiencies  of, 

168.  [203. 

College  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  The,  162,  163, 

Curricula  of,  162,  163. 
College  of  Engineering,  The,  163. 
College  of  Medicine,  The,  172-177. 

Admissions  to,  174. 

Attendance  of  students,  173,  174. 

Building,  172,  173. 

Clinical  material,  175. 

Entrance  requirements,  174. 

Equipment  and  value,  173. 

Expenditures,  173,  176. 

Expenses  to  students,  173. 

Faculty,  173. 

Income  of,  173. 


INDEX 


241 


Money  needed,  176. 
Old  medical  school,  172. 
State  expenditure  unjustifiable,  177. 
University  of  Wisconsin,  6,  7,  169. 

Vail,  Theodore  N.,  President  American  Tele- 
graph and  Telephone  Company,  3,  130,  131. 
Vassar  College,  200,  201. 
Ventilation,  57,  59,  69. 
Vermont,  19-24. 

Acreage  of  farms,  21. 

Agriculture,  8,  11,  21,  22,  24,  127,  132,  133. 

Annual  income,  8,  14. 

Census,  19-21. 

Chief  problem  of,  8. 

CUmate  of,  19. 

Dairying,  22. 

Debt,  24. 

Development  of  her  agricultural  resources, 
133. 

Educational  administration  in,  12. 

Educational  rivalry  in,  197. 

Emigration,  20,  21. 

Forestry,  19,  20,  22,  127. 

General  statistics  of,  for  five  decades,  220. 

Geography,  19. 

Government  of,  23,  24. 

Growth  of,  20. 

History  of,  23. 

Immigration,  21. 

Industrial  population,  220. 

Judicial  authority,  23. 

Lumber  industry,  22. 

Map  of,  18. 

Marble  Company,  192. 

Military  operations  in  wars,  23. 

Mines,  22. 

Obligation    to    elementary    and    secondary 
school  system,  197. 

Population,  8,  19-21,  220. 
Geographical  shifting  of,  20. 

Predominantly  agricultural,  21. 

Proportional  distribution  of  current  expenses 
in  public  schools,  224. 

Railroad  transportation  in,  22. 

School  finances  in  1912,  221. 

School  property  in,  56, 

Settlement  of,  23. 

Shape  of,  19. 

Size  of,  19. 

Small,  19. 


Soil,  cultivation  of,  19. 

Supplied,  in  1908,  more  marbles  than  Italy, 
22. 

Textile  manufactures,  22. 

Tied  with  Kansas  for  first  place  in  enrolment 
of  school  children,  41. 

Valuation,  220. 

Wealth,  22,  220. 
Vermont  Colleges : 

Annual  appropriations,  195,  196. 

Atmosphere  of  student  life  in,  154. 

Charters  of,  154^156. 

Co-education,  199-201. 

Comparison  of  men's  with  women's  dormito- 
ries, 209. 

Competition  for  state  subsidies,  196,  197. 

County  distribution  of  Vermont  students  at- 
tending, 231. 

Dormitory  life,  208.  [154. 

Large  proportion  of  students  from  other  states. 

Number  of  students,  199. 

Problem  of  wholesome  food  for  students,  209. 

Relations  to  the  state,  153-157.  [195. 

State  expenditures  for,  increased  year  by  year, 
Vermont  School  Reports,  81,  127. 
Vermont  Schoolmasters'  Club,  81. 
Vermont  students  attending  colleges   outside 

state,  200. 
Vermont  Teachers'  Association,  115. 
Vocational  education : 

Problem  of,  125-127. 

Purpose  of,  125. 
Vocational  schools,  12,  125-133. 

Constructive  program.  A,  131-133. 

Existing  situation  in  Vermont,  127-129. 

Forms  of,  127. 

Watson,  John  H.,  Chairman,  Judge  of  Su- 
preme Court,  3. 

Wellesley  College,  200,  230. 

Wesleyan  University,  181,  200,  201. 

Western  Reserve  College,  230. 

Williams,  Dr.  Edward  H.,  158. 

Williams  College,  200,  201,  230. 

Wisconsin  Free  Library,  7. 

Women  in  colleges,  159,  161,  178,  180,  182,  184, 
185,  199,  200,  209. 

Worcester  Polytechnic  Institute,  200. 

Writing,  44,  45,  48. 

Yale  University,  181,  200,  201,  230. 


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